Pointless

How to spell pointless

9 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce pointless

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does pointless mean?

1. adjectiveHaving no purpose, use, or meaning; not worth doing.

Pointless in a sentence

• Arguing with him about the deadline felt completely pointless.

• Without the password, downloading the file is pointless.

Where does pointless come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent native English compound built from 'point' plus the suffix '-less'. The noun 'point' came into Middle English through Old French 'point' and 'pointe', both descending from the Latin verb 'pungere', meaning 'to prick' or 'to pierce'; the same root gives us 'puncture' and 'pungent'. From the literal idea of a sharp tip, 'point' grew the figurative sense of the essential aim or purpose of something, the very thing one is driving at. The suffix '-less' is purely Germanic, descending from Old English 'leas', meaning 'free from' or 'devoid of', and it is the same element seen in 'hopeless' and 'careless'. Joined together, 'pointless' literally means 'without a point', and by the seventeenth century it was being used to describe efforts that serve no purpose. The spelling is regular, though the doubled-looking '-tl-' junction and the single 's' of '-less' occasionally trip writers up.

How the word is built

• point (a sharp end; purpose)
• -less (without)