at loose ends
Without clear purpose
At loose ends describes a state of having nothing particular to do, often with restless or unsettled undertones.
Someone at loose ends lacks direction or purpose, at least temporarily: After the project wrapped up, I was at loose ends for a few weeks.
The British variant is "at a loose end."
- boredLacking interest or engagement
- twiddling thumbsGesture of impatient boredom
- disconnectedSeparated from a source
- out of sortsMildly unwell or grumpy
- driftingMoving without purpose
between jobs · restless · purposeless · idle · aimless · unemployed · uncertain · up in the air · betwixt and between · untethered · unmoored · limbo · wandering · unfulfilled · confused · unresolved · in transition · listless
at loose endsbusy
Actively occupied with tasks
occupied · engaged · purposeful · hard at work · engrossed
at loose endssettled
No longer in question
decided · firm · resolved · purposeful · determined
loose, ending, endless, ends, endlessly, loosened, endings, endgame, looseness