rudderless

American  

[ruhd-er-lis] / ˈrʌd ər lɪs /

adjective

1. (of a boat, ship, or aircraft) lacking a rudder, the device or structure used to change direction and steer.

   I love the story of Columba, a priest in sixth-century Ireland, who got into a rudderless boat and let God and providence take him where he was meant to be.

2. lacking purpose, leadership, moral principles, or anything else that might provide direction; aimless.

   The people are drifting and rudderless, without a vision to unify and motivate them and without a shared set of values.

---

Etymology

Origin of rudderless

rudder ( def. ) + -less ( def. )

Example Sentences

Rudderless without the soccer great, the team failed to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in nearly two decades.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 27, 2022

Rudderless, Shrimp Boy lived with his brother and his brother’s girlfriend, who complained about how much toilet paper he used.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2015

Rudderless, the new film from William H Macy, is a tale of turnabouts, second chances and the fork in the road that points to a whole new career.

From The Guardian • Oct. 23, 2014

Rudderless, directed and starring William H Macy, will close the festival.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2013

Other passions and loves have drifted     Over this wandering, restless soul, Rudderless, chartless, floating always     With some new current of chance control.

From Last Poems by Hope, Laurence