defeats the purpose = makes senseless/makes pointless
Dear teachers,
There is a brief excerpt from an article where I noted a very strange for me expression. Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right to use the expression “makes senseless/ make pointless” instead of the expression in bold?
"In many cases, it does not fit into the administrative systems of the parties, nor is it a usual way of doing business. Not only is this burdensome and difficult to administer, but it becomes very noticeable to the seller. The seller is then likely specifically to reject the buyer's acknowledgment, and a detailed negotiation as to whose conditions are to govern the contract will probably ensue. This defeats the purpose of doing business on standard conditions (speed and efficiency in dealing with a large number of transactions), and the purchasing departments of both the buyer and the seller will probably be unable to cope with the work load imposed if there are many such special negotiations."
Thank you for your efforts.
Regards,
V.
Re: defeats the purpose = makes senseless/makes pointless
God Blessing!
Based on the first sentence: In many cases, it does not fit into the administrative systems of the parties, nor is it a usual way of doing business.
It seems you are right!
Longman says, defeat means to make something fail.
Re: defeats the purpose = makes senseless/makes pointless
God Blessing!
It seems you are right!
Longman says, defeat means to make something fail.