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Example:

I've been following people [...] recently.

I'm looking for something similar to * aimlessly*. But instead of not having a purpose it should mean not knowing the destination.

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    I'm not sure there is a word that covers following people without knowing where they will lead you except perhaps blindly but that's maybe more to do with the following than where they are going.
    – Frank
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 9:05
  • One could use 'goallessly' - Wiktionary adverb (not comparable). In a goalless manner. But the adjective is more usual. In your form, a single adverb would modify the following, not the people followed, and cannot really be used in place of an adverbial clause ('who do not know where they are headed').
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 9:08
  • This isn't an answer, but I'm reminded of Roger Zelazny's SF novel, 'The Dream Master'. Set in a world where all vehicles are automatically controlled, some owners would get a buzz by randomly setting the co-ordinates of the destination. It was called blindspin.
    – David Garner
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 9:13
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    You might try " I've been following people with no end in mind recently". This could be adjusted to no end in view/ no end in sight.
    – WS2
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 9:25
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    "I've been aimlessly following people recently." (aimlessly: without definite aim, direction, rule, or method wandered aimlessly through the forest until we were hopelessly lost --MWO)
    – Kris
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 10:15

7 Answers 7

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The standard idiom for making decisions without important information is blindly, and it is frequently used in phrases such as "I am just following the crowd blindly" or "they just blindly followed orders."

Some caution might be in order, however. While this idiom is quite common, it could arguably be considered offensive to those who are actually physically blind.

(Compare also military jargon for transmitting a message "in the blind," meaning in the expectation that you can be heard, but without the ability to receive a message in return, as memorably used in the movie Gravity.)

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Do you mean to say you aren't selective in who you follow? If so:

Of late, I've been following people indiscriminately.

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  • "I've been following people who ramble around town." or "I've been rambling around town, following people I never met."

"ramble" (vb) - "to walk or go from one place to another place without a specific goal, purpose, or direction." - Merriam-Webster, "to stroll about freely, with no particular direction TFD

  • "I've seen a few surprising scenes in my rambles in the country."
  • "We rambled around town for six hours."
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  • an excellent answer.well done!
    – sojourner
    Commented Feb 4, 2015 at 9:29
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If you are doing this to enjoy the unplanned journey, you might try serendipitously. Oxford Dictionaries Online defines serendipitous as

Occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way: a serendipitous encounter

Supplement

Also consider by happenstance

A chance circumstance: "I drove loops around the nearby parish school ... hoping to bump into her casually and claim it was mere happenstance" (Hart Seely).

American Heritage

It sounds like you are talking about real happenstance.

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Coddiwomple (v.) Origin: English Slang Word - Definition: To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination.

Peregrinate (v.) Origin: Latin -Definition: Travel or wander around from place to place.

http://hopscotchtheglobe.com/25-words-every-traveller-should-have-in-their-vocabulary/

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A journey without a destination simple means moving forward but in the wrong direction it means not knowing were you started but you continued in the journey which may lead you to the unknown

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  • The OP was not asking about the meaning of the expression but for a word that means "not knowing one's destination"
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:27
  • Please answer the question.
    – user22542
    Commented Sep 27, 2018 at 11:44
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Or if you are being a wanderer.

I've been following people [rootlessly] recently.

  • rootlessly. having no ties to a particular locale. (wiki)
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  • I think root in this word refers to where you came from, not where you're located while you're doing it.
    – Barmar
    Commented Feb 3, 2015 at 16:59

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