pointless

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

point·less

(point′lĭs)

adj.

1. Lacking meaning; senseless: a pointless remark; a pointless coincidence.

2. Ineffectual; useless: a pointless effort to prevent discussion of the scandal. See Synonyms at futile.

3. Having an end that is not sharp or tapered; having no point: pointless arrows.

4. Failing to score a point: a pointless first quarter.

point′less·ly adv.

point′less·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pointless

(ˈpɔɪntlɪs)

adj

1. without a point

2. without meaning, relevance, or force

3. (General Sporting Terms) sport without a point scored

ˈpointlessly adv

ˈpointlessness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

point•less

(ˈpɔɪnt lɪs)

adj.

1. without relevance or force; meaningless; useless.

2. without a point scored, as in a game.

3. blunt, as an instrument.

[1300–50]

point′less•ly, adv.

point′less•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.	1.	pointless - not having a point especially a sharp point; "my pencils are all pointless" unpointed pointed - having a point
	2.	pointless - serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being; "otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words"; "a pointless remark"; "a life essentially purposeless"; "senseless violence" otiose, superfluous, wasted, purposeless, senseless worthless - lacking in usefulness or value; "a worthless idler"

pointless

adjective senseless, meaningless, futile, fruitless, unproductive, stupid, silly, useless, absurd, irrelevant, in vain, worthless, ineffectual, unprofitable, nonsensical, aimless, inane, unavailing, without rhyme or reason Violence is always pointless.
fitting, productive, useful, appropriate, sensible, proper, to the point, profitable, logical, desirable, worthwhile, beneficial, meaningful, fruitful

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

pointless

adjective

1. Without aim, purpose, or intent:

aimless, desultory, purposeless.

2. Lacking rational direction or purpose:

meaningless, mindless, purposeless, senseless.

Idiom: without rhyme or reason.

Translations

بِلا مَغْزَىلا مَعْنى له، بدون هَدَف، تافِه

bezvýznamnýmarnýzbytečný

formålsløsmeningsløs

zwecklos sinnlos stumpf unnütz witzlos

άσκοπος μάταιος

sin sentido inane inútil

turhatylsä

inutile futile

bespredmetan

tilgangslaus

inutile lavoro sprecato

無意味な

무의미한

zinloos

meningsløs uten poeng

tępy

inútil

бессмысленный

nesmiseln

meningslös

ไร้จุดหมาย

anlamsızamaçsız

vô nghĩa

无意义的

pointless

[ˈpɔɪntlɪs] ADJ

1. (= useless) → inútil
it is pointless to complain → es inútil quejarse, de nada sirve quejarse

2. (= motiveless) → sin motivo, inmotivado
an apparently pointless crime → en aparencia, un crimen inmotivado

3. (= meaningless) → sin sentido
a pointless existence → una vida sin sentido, una vida que carece de propósito

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

pointless

[ˈpɔɪntləs] adj

(= useless) → inutile, vain(e)
It's pointless to argue → Il est inutile de discuter.

(= futile) → dénué(e) de sens
to be pointless → n'avoir aucun sens
Without an audience, the performance is pointless → Sans public, la représentation n'a aucun sens.

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

pointless

adj → sinnlos; it is pointless to go → es ist sinnlos zu gehen; it is pointless her going or for her to go → es ist sinnlos, dass sie geht; a pointless exercise → eine sinnlose Angelegenheit

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

pointless

[ˈpɔɪntlɪs] adj (suffering, existence, journey) → inutile, vano/a; (crime) → senza senso, gratuito/a; (remark) → superfluo/a; (story, joke) → senza capo né coda
it is pointless to refuse → è inutile rifiutarsi

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

point

(point) noun

1. the sharp end of anything. the point of a pin; a sword point; at gunpoint (= threatened by a gun).

2. a piece of land that projects into the sea etc. The ship came round Lizard Point.

3. a small round dot or mark (.) a decimal point; five point three six (= 5.36); In punctuation, a point is another name for a full stop.

4. an exact place or spot. When we reached this point of the journey we stopped to rest.

5. an exact moment. Her husband walked in at that point.

6. a place on a scale especially of temperature. the boiling-point of water.

7. a division on a compass eg north, south-west etc.

8. a mark in scoring a competition, game, test etc. He has won by five points to two.

9. a particular matter for consideration or action. The first point we must decide is, where to meet; That's a good point; You've missed the point; That's the whole point; We're wandering away from the point.

10. (a) purpose or advantage. There's no point (in) asking me – I don't know.

11. a personal characteristic or quality. We all have our good points and our bad ones.

12. an electrical socket in a wall etc into which a plug can be put. Is there only one electrical point in this room?

verb

1. to aim in a particular direction. He pointed the gun at her.

2. to call attention to something especially by stretching the index finger in its direction. He pointed (his finger) at the door; He pointed to a sign.

3. to fill worn places in (a stone or brick wall etc) with mortar.

ˈpointed adjective

having a sharp end. a pointed nose; pointed shoes.

ˈpointer noun

1. a long stick used to indicate places on a large map etc.

2. an indicator on a dial. The pointer is on/at zero.

3. a hint; a suggestion. Give me some pointers on how to do it.

ˈpointless adjective

having no meaning or purpose. a pointless journey.

ˈpointlessly adverb

points noun plural

1. a movable section of rails which allow a train to cross over other lines or pass from one line to another. The points had to be changed before the train could continue.

2. the solid tips in the toes of ballet shoes. She can dance on her points.

be on the point of

to be about to (do something). I was on the point of going out when the telephone rang.

come to the point

1. (also get to the point) to reach the most important consideration in a conversation etc. He talked and talked but never came to the point.

2. (only with it as subject) to arrive at the moment when something must be done. He always promises to help, but when it comes to the point he's never there.

make a point of

to be especially careful to (do something). I'll make a point of asking her today.

make one's point

to state one's opinion persuasively.

point out

to indicate or draw attention to. He pointed out his house to her; I pointed out that we needed more money.

point one's toes

to stretch the foot out, shaping the toes into a point, when dancing etc.

pointless

→ بِلا مَغْزَى zbytečný meningsløs zwecklos μάταιος sin sentido turha inutile bespredmetan inutile 無意味な 무의미한 zinloos meningsløs tępy inútil бессмысленный meningslös ไร้จุดหมาย anlamsız vô nghĩa 无意义的

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

Dunfer honestly intended the look that he fixed upon me to be merely reproachful, but it was singularly fit to arouse the gravest apprehension in any unarmed person incurring it; and as I had lost all interest in his pointless and interminable narrative, I rose to go.

View in context

Speeches he had thought out came into his head, but they seemed utterly pointless. "I thought--I used to think--I had it in my mind you would marry Seth Richmond.

View in context

And so, such hearts, though summary in each one suffering; still, if the gods decree it, in their life-time aggregate a whole age of woe, wholly made up of instantaneous intensities; for even in their pointless centres, those noble natures contain the entire circumferences of inferior souls.

View in context

Presently she started up, exclaiming that they would be late for breakfast; and they hurried back to the tumble-down house with its pointless porch and unpruned hedge of plumbago and pink geraniums where the Wellands were installed for the winter.

View in context

In his cupped hands he brought the water toward his face and, at the moment he was about to apply it, made pointless attempts to blow it away.

View in context

I start, we'll say, at the bottom, down in the corner over there where it has not been touched, and I determine for the thousandth time that I WILL follow that pointless pattern to some sort of a conclusion.

View in context

It might have been supposed that Rosamond had travelled too, since she had found the pointless conversation of Mr.

View in context

She recognized its pointless gentleness always the same no matter what he had to say.

View in context

Yet there was much more sense in it than in his compliment to me, which was absolutely pointless.

View in context

It was absolutely pointless. A peon was seen walk- ing that morning on the verandah with a letter in his hand.

View in context

It is my belief, however, that had I attempted a different order of composition, my faculties would not have been found so pointless and inefficacious.

View in context

Alexander Armstrong and his "Pointless friend" Richard Osman are joined by four couples who all made it through to the final in the past but then failed to come up with that elusive pointless answer.