Idleness Meaning
/ˈaɪdəlnəs/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe state of being idle; inactivity.
nounThe state of being indolent; indolence.
Sentence Examples
Sooner or later, you will regret your idleness.
Work is preferable to idleness.
CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ led to boredom and a lack of productivity at work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Too much ____ can sometimes lead to feelings of boredom and a lack of motivation.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English ydelnesse, from Old English īdelnes, from Proto-West Germanic *īdalnassī, equivalent to idle + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian īdelnisse (“idelness”), obsolete Dutch ijdelnis, Old Saxon īdalnussi (“idleness, vanity”), Old High German ītalnissa (“idleness, vanity, emptiness”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"For either they be puffed vp vvith pride, / Or fraught vvith enuie that their galls do ſvvell, / Or they their dayes to ydleneſſe diuide, / Or drovvnded lie in pleaſures vvaſtefull vvell, / In vvhich like Moldvvarps [i.e., moles] nouſling ſtill they lurke, / Vnmyndfull of chiefe parts of manlineſſe, / And do themſelues for vvant of other vvorke, / Vaine votaries of laeſie loue profeſſe, […]"
— 1595, Ed. Spencer [i.e., Edmund Spenser], Colin Clouts Come Home Againe, London: […] T[homas] C[reede] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, signature D3, verso:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
His ____ led to boredom and a lack of productivity at work.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Too much ____ can sometimes lead to feelings of boredom and a lack of motivation.