idleness

[ ahy-dl-nis ]

/ ˈaɪ dl nɪs /

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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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Origin of idleness

before 1000; idle + -ness

Words nearby idleness

-idium, IDK, idle, idle character, idle gear, idleness, idle pulley, idler, idler shaft, idlesse, idle time

How to use idleness in a sentence

Ordinarily, she says, the camps are places of profound idleness.
Pairing economics with empathy to study life in the developing world|Alissa Greenberg|August 24, 2021|MIT Technology Review
They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts, and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.
Juneteenth, explained|Fabiola Cineas|June 17, 2021|Vox
The first four games of their season were canceled, creating a seven-day gap between their last exhibition and Opening Day — idleness aplenty to damage the timing of every hitter and warp the regimen of every pitcher.
The Nationals didn’t seek this pain, but they might be growing from it|Thomas M. Boswell|April 22, 2021|Washington Post
And, though they didn’t know it at the time, it was just the beginning of a long period of idleness and uncertainty.
‘Six’ seemed bound for Broadway glory. Then a pandemic shut it down on opening night.|Peter Marks|March 4, 2021|Washington Post

As long as you can engage with it in a healthy way—such that boredom prompts you to engage in beneficial behaviors—you should try to spend some of your time in idleness.
There’s a right and wrong way to be bored|Sara Chodosh|January 22, 2021|Popular-Science
Most will spend their three years behind bars in forced idleness.
Are Prisons Bleeding Us Dry?|Sheila A. Bedi|December 1, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In his speech Monday morning, the president tried to warn his fellow Washingtonians against idleness.
No Jobs Relief in Sight|Andrew Romano|September 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
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
Competing stores needlessly occupy the time of hundreds of thousands of employees in a mixture of idleness and industry.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
But when all is said about the horror of idleness the broad fact remains that the hours of work are too long.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
The boys have his presence, not only as a check to idleness or noise, but as an encouragement to industry.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham
I in these speculations will consumeMy idleness; because the truth, when known,Though sad, has yet its charms.
The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi|Giacomo Leopardi
It is weakness which makes us hate an enemy and seek revenge, and it is idleness that pacifies us and causes us to neglect it.
The 'Characters' of Jean de La Bruyre|Jean de La Bruyre