Lazy Meaning
/ˈleɪ̯zi(ː)/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjUnwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion.
adjCausing or characterised by idleness; relaxed or leisurely.
Sentence Examples
I'm too lazy to do my homework.
It is because you are lazy that you cannot write your report.
As a rule, man is inclined to be lazy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ worker never completed his tasks on time and was fired.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was a ____ Sunday morning, and nobody in the house felt like doing anything more than watching some TV.
Word Origin & History
Attested since 1540, origin uncertain. Probably from Low German and Middle Low German lasich (“slack, feeble, lazy”), from las, from Old Saxon lask, from Proto-Germanic *lasiwaz, *laskaz (“feeble, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *las- (“weak”). Akin to Dutch leuzig (“lazy”), Old Norse lasinn (“limpy, tired, weak”), Old English lesu, lysu (“false, evil, base”). More at lush. An alternative etymology traces lazy to Early Modern English laysy, a derivative of lay (plural lays + -y) in the same way that tipsy is derived from tip. See lay.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""I'm too lazy," he said. "My wife says I'm the laziest man in all Oz, and she is a truthful woman. I hate work of any kind, and making a raft is hard work.""
— 1913, L. Frank Baum, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co., published c. 1920, page 308:
"So it was this beautiful young woman Rokoff had been persecuting. Tarzan wondered in a lazy sort of way whom she might be, and what relations one so lovely could have with the surly, bearded Russian."
— 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 17:
"There was probably more cattle bearing the Lazy S brand marketed than those of any other ranch in the world."
— 2010, The Trail Drivers of Texas:
"The Zuliagas branded a Lazy B. In order to distinguish his cows from theirs for the drive back to Arizona, Mr. Day added a britchen brand across their butts, under their tails."
— 2002, American Cowboy, volume 9, number 3, page 60:
"The swilland dropsy enter in
The lazy cuke , and swell his skin"
— 1641, Ben Jonson, The Sad Shepherd:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ worker never completed his tasks on time and was fired.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It was a ____ Sunday morning, and nobody in the house felt like doing anything more than watching some TV.