indolence
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of indolence
1595–1605; < Latin indolentia freedom from pain; see indolent, -ence
Explanation
If your boss catches you sleeping with your head on your desk, she's likely to comment on your indolence. Indolence is another word for laziness. The noun indolence means a habit of laziness, especially when avoiding work. In the 1600s, indolence was mostly used to mean "insensitivity to pain," from the Latin indolentia, "freedom from pain." About 100 years later, indolence came to have its current meaning, possibly because of the phrase "taking pains," which means "being careful." If you are so careful that you never leave the house, people might think of you as lazy.
Vocabulary lists containing indolence
The Giver
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Negatives with "in"
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Life of Pi
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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.
I’ve spent the last 40-odd years trying to fight the good fight against the forces of indolence and greed to do the best with our stuff that you can do.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2024
Theodore Agnew called counter-fraud efforts “woeful” and said the government was paralyzed by a combination of “arrogance, indolence and ignorance.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2022
In Afghanistan, fashion, with its low barriers to entry, is not so much a symbol of self-indulgent indolence as a lever of advancement.
From New York Times ● Aug. 25, 2021
Li, a dreamy scribbler who likes nothing better than to nap in the bedclothes after a long day of chasing calves around, finds the imposed indolence delicious.
From Slate ● Feb. 24, 2021
He was soft and more used than he dared admit to indolence and good food.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
