laziness

American  

[lay-zee-nis] / ˈleɪ zi nɪs /

noun

1. having or showing an unwillingness to work.

   Many people start the course with a bang, but trail off after a while because of laziness, insufficient curiosity, or lack of motivation.

2. the fact or quality of encouraging idleness.

   We relaxed in the laziness of the warm afternoon, watching as the sun began to set.

3. the fact or quality of being slow-moving or sluggish.

   It was only three miles downstream, but the laziness of the river stretched the raft ride to two hours.

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Etymology

Origin of laziness

lazy ( def. ) + -ness ( def. )

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Explanation

The characteristic of being idle or relaxed can be called laziness. Your laziness might keep you from taking your puppy for the long walk she needs, instead just letting her out in the yard. There's the kind of laziness when you lie in a hammock for an hour watching the clouds, and then there's the kind when you don't get any work done all week. You might experience laziness on vacation, sleeping later than usual and lounging on the beach with a book. Sometimes laziness is the result, though, of an unwillingness to work or help someone out: "His laziness meant that I had to set the tent up all by myself!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

laziness

Americans forgo untold sums of money every year on what some might call a laziness tax, for oversights like failing to refinance their mortgage or incurring a late fee after forgetting to pay a bill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

As a researcher in developmental psychology, focusing on social development and psychological well-being, I argue that news fatigue is not laziness, weakness or a generational decline in civic interest.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026

I’ll admit: much of it is due to poor planning and, frankly, laziness.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

"It's not laziness, it's the executive dysfunction that makes it difficult... People have trouble focusing their attention and keeping it sustained long enough to complete these tasks," she said.

From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026

But by the time my mother had had her say about him, I saw his brain had shrunk from laziness, so that now it was good only for thinking up excuses.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

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Related Words

• apathy
• inertia
• lethargy
• negligence
• sloth
• weariness

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