idleness means the state of being idle; inactivity. It carries an Arena rating of 1514, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, idleness ranks #2,376 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #3,732 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #6,209 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #7,927 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
idleness is pronounced /ˈaɪdəlnəs/.
Why “idleness” is a great word
IDLENESS — [Noun] The state of being inactive, unoccupied, or lazy. From Middle English ydelnesse, from Old English īdelnes ("idleness, vanity"), from Proto-West Germanic *īdalnassī, equivalent to idle ("empty, worthless, inactive") + -ness (state or condition). Unlike "leisure," which implies restorative freedom from duty, or "inertia," which describes a physics-like resistance to motion, idleness is a hollow and volitional refusal of purpose. It is the long, uncurling smoke from a forgotten cigarette; the dust motes swimming in a motionless sunbeam that crosses an unmade bed; the slow, deliberate decay of fruit left too long in a bowl. A quiet testament not to rest, but to vacancy.
Etymology
From Middle English ydelnesse, from Old English īdelnes, from Proto-West Germanic *īdlanassī, 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”).
noun
- The state of being idle; inactivity.
- The state of being indolent; indolence.
- Groundlessness; worthlessness; triviality; vanity; frivolity.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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