adrift
adrift Lexical Profile
adrift Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Floating on the water without being moored, anchored, or steered (of a boat or other object).
"After the anchor line snapped in the storm, the fishing boat was left adrift in the open bay."
Lacking purpose, direction, or guidance in life or a particular situation.
"Many recent graduates feel somewhat adrift during their first few months out of university."
British No longer fastened or secured in its proper place; loose.
"One of the roof tiles had come adrift during the gale and needed immediate repair."
• adverb
So as to float without control, mooring, or steering on the water.
"The crew had to cut the damaged dinghy adrift to keep the main vessel safe."
Away from the intended course, plan, or standard; amiss or wrong.
"Somewhere in the second half of the fiscal year, our budget projections went badly adrift."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'adrift' is used strictly in the predicate position (after a linking verb or noun, as in 'the boat was adrift' or 'a vessel adrift') and never directly before a noun.
• Rhymes for adrift
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in the early 17th century from the Old English prefix 'a-' (meaning 'on' or 'in') combined with the noun 'drift', originally used in nautical contexts to describe vessels floating without moorings.