pointless
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
having no clear reason or purpose; a waste of time and effort.
lacking a functional purpose, meaning, or utility; often used to describe futile actions or redundant arguments.
Simple“It is pointless to argue with him when he has already made up his mind.”
In context“The committee spent hours debating minor clerical details, a pointless exercise that delayed the project's launch by several weeks.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
not having a sharp end or tip.
lacking a sharp point or tapering tip; terminating in a rounded or blunt end.
Simple“The artist used a pointless tool to smooth the clay without scratching it.”
In context“For safety reasons, the historical re-enactors were required to use pointless swords during the public demonstration.”
- 03 C2 Proficiency
having no points in a game or competition.
characterised by a lack of points or score in a competitive context.
Simple“The team finished the season pointless after losing every single match.”
In context“Despite several near-misses in the final quarter, the underdog remained pointless as the whistle blew to end the match.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
a way of writing computer code that does not name the data it is working on.
referring to the tacit programming paradigm where function definitions do not explicitly identify their arguments.
Simple“Some developers find pointless code harder to read because the variables are hidden.”
In context“While pointless style can lead to concise functional expressions, it often obscures the data flow for those unfamiliar with the codebase.”
Synonyms
“This can make reading to little kids seem like a pointless exercise.”
“Don’t waste your time studying for a pointless degree at a mediocre university.”
From Middle English pointles, poynteles, poyntlees. By surface analysis, point + -less.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.