idleness

[ ahy-dl-nis ]

/ ˈaɪ dl nɪs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR idleness ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the quality, state, or condition of being lazy, inactive, or idle: His lack of interest in the larger world and his consummate idleness were the causes of their dreadful divorce.

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Are you the Cinderella of this week’s quiz? Test your memory on the words and definitions from March 23–29.

Question 1 of 7

schlep

to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

to fold or wind around something

to carry; lug

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Origin of idleness

before 1000; idle + -ness

Words nearby idleness

idle character, idle gear, idle pulley, idle time, idle wheel, idleness, idler, idler shaft, idlesse, idlewild, idn

Example sentences from the Web for idleness

Indeed, idleness, for Russell, is a state one reaches by escaping the encompassing world.
The Professor's Reading List|Stephen L. Carter|March 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The immigrants were not suffered to sit in idleness all that afternoon.
South from Hudson Bay|E. C. [Ethel Claire] Brill
With an idleness that visited her only at early day-break, she wondered what it was.
A Christmas Accident and Other Stories|Annie Eliot Trumbull
He tells the envious that the fame of Poets is immortal, and that theirs is not a life devoted to idleness.
The Amores, or Amours|Ovid

The poverty here indeed is great, but idleness and laziness are far greater.
Selections from the Table Talk of Martin Luther|Martin Luther
With nothing that could be done, he felt no pangs in idleness.
The Lone Ranger Rides|Fran Striker