Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Continually changing, especially in abode or occupation: Describes a person, group, or lifestyle characterized by frequent movement from one place or job to another without a fixed, permanent state.
   • Aimless, without clear direction: Describes movement or existence that lacks a specific goal or purpose.

2. Noun:

   • The act of moving aimlessly from place to place: The state or activity of wandering without a fixed destination or purpose.
   • The process of being carried along by currents: Literally, the movement of something (like a boat or cloud) driven by wind or water currents.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • He led a drifting existence for years, never staying in one city for more than a few months.
  • The novel follows the drifting protagonist as he travels across the country.
• Noun:
  • His life was a constant drifting, with no real home or career.
  • The drifting of the icebergs is monitored by scientists.

Advanced Usage

• "drifting apart": (phrasal verb) To gradually become less close or connected, often used for relationships.
  • Over the years, the old friends found themselves drifting apart.
• Conceptual use: Can describe a state of mind or attention that is unfocused.
  • She was in a drifting state of thought, not concentrating on the lecture.

Variants and Related Words

• Drift (verb/noun): The base form. As a verb: to be carried along by currents; to move aimlessly. As a noun: a continuous slow movement; a general meaning or intent.
  • The boat began to drift out to sea.
  • I didn't understand the drift of his argument.
• Drifter (noun): A person who moves from place to place without a fixed home or job.
  • He was a drifter, living a nomadic life.

Synonyms

• Adjective: Nomadic, rootless, itinerant, vagrant, wandering.
• Noun: Wandering, roaming, vagrancy, meandering.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Drift off: To fall asleep gradually.
  • I drifted off while listening to the rain.
• Drift into: To enter a state or condition gradually and often unintentionally.
  • He drifted into a life of crime.

Related Idioms

• Get the drift: To understand the general meaning or idea of something.
  • I think you get the drift of what I'm saying.
• Drift with the tide: To go along with prevailing opinions or circumstances without resistance.
  • He doesn't make decisions; he just drifts with the tide.

Adjective

1. continually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another
   • a drifting double-dealer
   • the floating population
   • vagrant hippies of the sixties

Noun

1. aimless wandering from place to place