- floating freely without being steered; not anchored; drifting
- without any particular aim or purpose
Two small boats adrift.
- A boat that is floating on the water with no means of steering or stopping is an example of being adrift.
- A person who has no career plans or goals may be an example of a person who is adrift.
The definition of adrift is someone or something moving aimlessly without power, direction or restrictions.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"adrift." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift>.
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adrift. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift
adrift
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"adrift." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift>.
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adrift. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift
adrift
adverb
adjective
- Drifting or floating freely; not anchored.
- Without direction or purpose: “The report is about people in their twenties and how alienated and adrift they feel” ( Tom Shales )
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"adrift." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift>.
APA Style
adrift. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift
Adjective
(comparative more adrift, superlative most adrift)
Adverb
(comparative more adrift, superlative most adrift)
Origin
Prefix a- (for on) + drift.
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"adrift." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift>.
APA Style
adrift. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/adrift
Sentence Examples
- After a horrible weeping fit, Alice sees the bottle and shrinks herself again, only to find herself adrift in a sea of her own tears.
- Nothing frustrates a business owner more than equipment that breaks down, leaving valuable employees adrift while waiting to get their tech equipment fixed.
- Lost is Space was clearly meant to capitalize on that popularity, by setting a resourceful family (also named Robinson) adrift in space in order to make a home as best they could.
- Prevented by ill-health from serving his full term, he found himself adrift in the world, without money or friends.
- The commander, Lieutenant William Bligh, was set adrift in the launch with part of the crew, but managed to make his way to Timor in the Malay Archipelago.
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