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slothful

[slawth-fuhl, slohth-]
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adjective
  1. sluggardly; indolent; lazy.
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Origin of slothful

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at sloth, -ful
Related formssloth·ful·ly, adverbsloth·ful·ness, noun

Synonyms

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sluggish; inactive, torpid, slack. See idle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

inertnessslothapathylethargynegligencewearinessslacknessdormancystoliditytardinessheavinessidlenessdullnessremissnesslistlessnessinertiainactivitylaxnessshiftlessnessslowness

Examples from the Web for slothfulness

Historical Examples

  • Speedily he relapsed again into slothfulness and self-indulgence.

    Art in England

    Dutton Cook

  • It must be the fruit of our own mismanagement or slothfulness or vices.

  • It furnishes constant temptation to slothfulness and inactivity.

  • All that resulted was the renewal of slothfulness, prodigality, and killing.

    The Quest

    Frederik van Eeden

  • When we do it to gratify our slothfulness, or to cover our wilful ignorance and disability.

    A Christian Directory

    Baxter Richard

British Dictionary definitions for slothfulness

slothful

adjective
  1. indolent
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Derived Formsslothfully, adverbslothfulness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for slothfulness

slothful

adj.

c.1400, from sloth + -ful. Related: Slothfully; slothfulness. For the latter, Middle English also had sloth-head (c.1300), with Middle English -hede, cognate with -hood.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper