What's the difference between pointless and purpose?

Pointless


Definition:

  • (a.) Having no point; blunt; wanting keenness; obtuse; as, a pointless sword; a pointless remark.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The citizenship debate is tawdry, conflated and ultimately pointless | Richard Ackland Read more On Wednesday, the prime minister criticised lawyers for backing terrorists.
  • (2) It’s the same story over and over.” Children’s author Philip Ardagh , who told the room he once worked as an “unprofessional librarian” in Lewisham, said: “Closing down a library is like filing off the end of a swordfish’s nose: pointless.” 'Speak up before there's nothing left': authors rally for National Libraries Day Read more “Today proves that support for public libraries comes from all walks of life and it’s not rocket science to work out why.
  • (3) But now the document turns crazily surreal, like the pointless war itself.
  • (4) And David Ngog was a pointless signing too – one which puzzled us all.
  • (5) "It is pointless to think sovereign bond rates could be brought down for an extended period of time by outside interventions," said Draghi.
  • (6) They aren't pointless; apart from any craft they may teach, they can also offer connections and contacts – a "way in" – which is the modern essential of anyone trying to start a career.
  • (7) An Australian family that lost three children and a grandfather in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 has published an emotional tribute calling for an end to the “pointless war” in eastern Ukraine.
  • (8) People are criticising what we are doing as pointless and saying we won’t achieve anything, but history has shown us that is not the case,” student leader Joshua Wong told the crowd last week.
  • (9) It is pointless to go back over the missed opportunities, but an essential part of the design of this regional conference is that it should be able to be supported by Russia and China as well as the US.
  • (10) Hoodies don't vote, they've realised it's pointless, that whoever gets elected will just be a different shade of the "we don't give a toss about you" party.
  • (11) Bojórquez, the editor, says that for the moment the risks are manageable within his commitment to the idea that journalism is pointless unless it informs.
  • (12) The others are either infuriatingly vague (“An NHS with time to care”) or pointlessly catch-all (“A country where the next generation can do better than the last”).
  • (13) Especially when there’s no funeral to go to, just an endless stream of pointless review meetings.
  • (14) "If this doesn't bring down mortgage rates for 95% loans then the whole thing is completely pointless," he said.
  • (15) To express guarded optimism about the Greek deal is not to condone the provocative arrogance of former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis or the pointless vindictiveness of the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble .
  • (16) The PCC came under fire last week from the editor of the Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, who branded its report on phone hacking at the News of the World "worse than pointless".
  • (17) 3 Don’t be afraid to talk about corruption Poverty overseas is often associated with corruption: 67% of the British public think that government corruption makes donating to reduce poverty “pointless” (up from 48% in 2008), according to research from Jennifer and David Hudson.
  • (18) But it's a pointless endeavour if the fundraising activity contributes to and compounds the culture in which our breasts are only relevant if they're being admired by someone else's eyes.
  • (19) Quibbling over whether fashion is more or less important than art is just as pointless as questioning whether or not it is art.
  • (20) Why should Paris or Berlin waste political capital - they have suspicious voters too - on concessions to Britain when it may all be pointless?

Purpose


Definition:

  • (n.) That which a person sets before himself as an object to be reached or accomplished; the end or aim to which the view is directed in any plan, measure, or exertion; view; aim; design; intention; plan.
  • (n.) Proposal to another; discourse.
  • (n.) Instance; example.
  • (v. t.) To set forth; to bring forward.
  • (v. t.) To propose, as an aim, to one's self; to determine upon, as some end or object to be accomplished; to intend; to design; to resolve; -- often followed by an infinitive or dependent clause.
  • (v. i.) To have a purpose or intention; to discourse.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) If the method was taken into routine use in a diagnostic laboratory, the persistence of reverse passive haemagglutination reactions would enable grouping results to be checked for quality control purposes.
  • (2) The purpose of these studies was to better understand the molecular basis of chromosome aberration formation after mitomycin C treatment.
  • (3) The purpose of the present study was to report on remaining teeth and periodontal conditions in a population of 200 adolescent and adult Vietnamese refugees.
  • (4) It was the purpose of the present study to describe the normal pattern of the growth sites of the nasal septum according to age and sex by histological and microradiographical examination of human autopsy material.
  • (5) The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential for integrating surveillance techniques in reproductive epidemiology with geographic information system technology in order to identify populations at risk around hazardous waste sites.
  • (6) These patients had undergone selective and bilateral simultaneous IPS sampling for diagnostic purposes or for neurosurgical indications.
  • (7) The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effects of cromakalim (BRL 34915), a potent drug from a new class of drugs characterized as "K+ channel openers", on the electrical activity of human skeletal muscle.
  • (8) The committee reviewed the history, original intent, current purpose, and effectiveness of meetings held on the unit; when problems were identified, suggestions for change were formulated.
  • (9) Current status of prognosis in clinical, experimental and prophylactic medicine is delineated with formulation of the purposes and feasibility of therapeutic and preventive realization of the disease onset and run prediction.
  • (10) For this purpose a test consisting of 135 picture cards was devised.
  • (11) For this purpose the blood flow velocity in the internal carotid artery, basilar cerebral artery and the anterior cerebral artery was measured by pulsed Dopplersonography before and 5-10 min after i.v.
  • (12) The purpose of our study was to determine the effect of HVPC on edema formation in frogs.
  • (13) The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of pretreatment with indomethacin on the refractory period to hypertonic saline-induced bronchoconstriction.
  • (14) What constitutes a "mental disorder" for purposes of the insanity defense?
  • (15) It delimitates the restrictive conditions in which such methods could be used for clinical but not research purposes.
  • (16) Benzyloxycarbonylarginine p-nitrophenyl ester and other activated esters of N-a-sustituted arginine salts may be useful reagents for introduction of trypsin-labile protecting groups into peptide fragments for purpose of polypeptide semi-synthesis.
  • (17) The purposes of this study were to assess the career development needs of entering medical students as measured by the Medical Career Development Inventory and to examine gender differences in responses to the inventory.
  • (18) For this purpose, five queries may contribute to programming the most suitable surgery.
  • (19) The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the signaling behaviors of female Long-Evans rats varies over the estrous cycle.
  • (20) The purposes of this study were to locate games and simulations available for nursing education, to categorize these materials to make them more accessible for nurse educators, and to determine how nursing's use of instructional games might be enhanced.