listless
Americanadjective
adjective
Related Words
See indifference.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of listless
First recorded in 1400–50, listless is from the late Middle English word lystles. See list 4, -less
Explanation
To be listless is to be lethargic, low spirited, and limp. If a fever has made you feel listless, you might also feel like you are melting into the sofa. If you went to the supermarket without your shopping list, that doesn't mean you're listless. The word originates from the Middle English word liste which meant "desire" (and is related to our word lust). Oddly enough, listen comes from the same origin. If you're too lethargic and out of it to listen, you're listless. It's not just laziness, it's not just fatigue; an utter indifference to whatever is going on around you makes you listless.
Vocabulary lists containing listless
Emotions on Display
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List 8
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Hamilton
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Listless men drift through the suburbs, begging for food.
From BBC • Aug. 7, 2020
Listless, confidence-shot, just not good enough: the list to describe City until they finally seemed to wake up ahead of Leroy Sane’s 71st-minute goal was not pretty reading for them.
From The Guardian • Mar. 15, 2017
Listless one day in December 2006, he called his former basketball coach at Fordson.
From Washington Post • Jan. 27, 2017
Listless recruiters could use the “refresh” button as a lazy way to assemble a candidate pool without getting to know anyone.
From Forbes • Apr. 12, 2013
"Listless triflers," "busy idlers," "purposeless busybodies," are seen everywhere.
From Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power by Marden, Orison Swett
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
