oarless
Lacking rowing implements
Oarless means without oars—a boat that has lost them or was never equipped with them.
The word appears occasionally in literary or nautical contexts: The oarless dinghy drifted with the current.
Figuratively, it can suggest helplessness or lack of means to propel oneself forward.
Moving without purpose
- rudderlessLacking guidance or direction
- castawayShipwrecked and stranded person
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
- strandedLeft without means to leave
lost · unmoored · directionless · aimless · floating · wandering · untethered · anchorless
Left motionless by windlessness
- doldrumsState of inactivity
- stillUnmoving, or continuing
- motionlessLacking all movement
- idleWithout activity or purpose
stuck · stalled · sluggish · torpid · inert · stationary · immobile · dead in the water
drifting
Moving without purpose
- rudderlessLacking guidance or direction
- castawayShipwrecked and stranded person
- maroonedLeft stranded and helpless
stranded · lost · unmoored · directionless · aimless · floating · wandering · untethered · anchorless · pilotless
becalmed
Left motionless by windlessness
- doldrumsState of inactivity
- stillUnmoving, or continuing
- motionlessLacking all movement
idle · stuck · stalled · sluggish · torpid · inert · stationary · immobile · dead in the water · going nowhere
boat
Watercraft for travel
canoe · kayak · gondola · galley · scull · shell · paddle · sweep · thwart · gunwale