listless means lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness. It carries an Arena rating of 1645, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, listless ranks #125 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,161 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #5,096 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #6,779 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
listless is pronounced /ˈlɪstlɪs/.
Why “listless” is a great word
Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness. From Middle English *lystles*, from *list* (meaning "desire, pleasure, inclination") + *-less* (meaning "without"). Unlike "languid," which suggests a relaxed, perhaps graceful inertia, or "lackadaisical," which implies a carefree negligence, listless is the hollowed-out absence of wanting itself. It is the blank stare at an unread book, the hand that lifts a teacup only to set it down cold, the body heavy in a chair from a failure of any impulse to rise—a world drained not of motion, but of any reason to move.
Etymology
From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) + -less. Compare German lustlos and Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.
adj
- Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.e.g.“I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless.” — 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavo
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- listlessly 85% match — In a listless manner; without energy or enthusiasm. vs listless →
- spiritless 84% match — Lacking energy, drive, motivation or emotion. Enervated. vs listless →
- listlessness 77% match — The state of being listless; apathetic indifference; lethargy. vs listless →
- zestless 76% match — Lacking zest; passionless, unenthusiastic. vs listless →
- lassitude 75% match — Lethargy or lack of energy; fatigue, languor, listlessness vs listless →
- lethargically 72% match — In a lethargic manner, without energy, tiredly. vs listless →
- dispirited 70% match — Without energy, gusto or drive, enervated, without the will to accomplish, disheartened. vs listless →
- zestlessness 70% match — The state or condition of being zestless; lack of passion or enthusiasm. vs listless →