indolent means habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistant to physical labor.
indolent is pronounced /ˈɪn.də.lənt/.
Why “indolent” is a great word
Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or averse to effort; in medicine, describing a condition that causes little pain or progresses slowly. From French indolent or directly from Late Latin indolēns, from Latin in- ("not") + dolēns, present participle of dolēre ("to hurt, grieve"), first recorded in English 1655–65. Unlike "slothful," which suggests a deep-seated, culpable torpor, or "idle," which describes a mere temporary pause, "indolent" evokes a cultivated philosophy of avoidance. It is the heavy-lidded afternoon spent watching dust motes swim in a sunbeam, the stack of urgent letters left to yellow by the door, and the luxurious, sighing surrender to the gravitational pull of a sofa—a quiet rebellion against the ache of endeavor, and a greater danger for never being moved to act.
Etymology
From French indolent or directly from Late Latin indolēns, from in- (“not”) + dolēns (“hurting”), from doleo (“to hurt”). The later sense of “living easily, slothful” perhaps developed in French.
adj
- Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistant to physical labor.e.g.“The indolent girl resisted doing her homework.”
- Inducing laziness.e.g.“indolent comfort”
- Causing little or no physical pain; progressing slowly; inactive (of an ulcer, etc.).
- Healing slowly.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- indolency 90% match — Synonym of indolence.; Habitual laziness or sloth. vs indolent →
- pigritude 86% match — Slothfulness, laziness. vs indolent →
- faineant 86% match — An irresponsible or lazy person. vs indolent →
- lassitude 85% match — Lethargy or lack of energy; fatigue, languor, listlessness vs indolent →
- languor 84% match — A state of the body or mind caused by exhaustion or disease and characterized by a languid or weary feeling; lassitude; (countable) an instance of this. vs indolent →
- sloth 84% match — Laziness; slowness of mind; disinclination to action or labour; a feeling combining indifference and lethargy; a dragging idleness. vs indolent →
- somnolent 84% match — Drowsy or sleepy. vs indolent →
- lethargy 84% match — A state of extreme torpor, sopor or apathy, especially with lack of emotion, energy or enthusiasm; (loosely) sluggishness, laziness. vs indolent →