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.
Indolence is no longer the fashion among aristocrats; many are out making money.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thomson, James, his boyhood, 73; brings his poetry to London, 73, 74; his Winter, 74, 75; befriended by Pope, 76; his Liberty and Castle of Indolence, 77, 78; his burial-place, 101.
From English Lands Letters and Kings Queen Anne and the Georges by Mitchell, Donald G.
I think it is Barry Cornwall, who says strikingly, that Thomson's figure "was a personification of the Castle of Indolence, without its romance."
From The Romance of Biography (Vol 2 of 2) or Memoirs of Women Loved and Celebrated by Poets, from the Days of the Troubadours to the Present Age. 3rd ed. 2 Vols. by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
Indolence and ignorance make us disposed to appeal too soon to original forces.
From The World As Will And Idea (Vol. 1 of 3) by Schopenhauer, Arthur
Indolence may not be a crime, but it iz liable tew be at enny time.
From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Shaw, Henry W.
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.
