different between exhausted vs listless

English

Etymology

From exhaust +? -ed.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /???z?st?d/
• (Canada, cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /???z?st?d/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /???z??st?d/

Adjective

exhausted (comparative more exhausted, superlative most exhausted)

1. Very tired; in a state of exhaustion.

   The exhausted man fell asleep immediately.

2. Depleted of resources.

   The exhausted mine was worthless once all the ore had been extracted.

3. (sciences, now historical) Emptied of contents, especially of air; that has been made into a vacuum.
   • 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford 2008, p. 839:

     A man can live in thick air, but perishes in an exhausted receiver.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fatigued or Thesaurus:depleted

Derived terms

• exhaustipated
• exhaustedly
• exhaustedness

Translations

Verb

exhausted

1. simple past tense and past participle of exhaust

English

Etymology

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) +? -less. Compare Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?l?stl?s/

Adjective

listless (comparative more listless, superlative most listless)

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   • 1818, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, ch. 18:

     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.

   • 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, The Stokesley Secret, ch. 6:

     What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes!

   • 1901, William Somerset Maugham, The Hero, ch. 21:

     The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.

   • 2005 Nov. 29, Aryn Baker, "John Hardy: Bali Guy," Time:

     “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

Derived terms

• listlessly
• listlessness

Translations

Anagrams

• slitless