different between idle vs listless

English

Etymology

From Middle English idel, ydel, from Old English ?del, from Proto-Germanic *?dalaz. Cognate with Dutch ijdel (“vain, meaningless”), German Low German iedel (“vain, idle”), German eitel (“vain, conceited”), and possibly Old Norse illr ("bad"; > English ill).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ??d(?)l, IPA^(key): /?a?d(?)l/
• Rhymes: -a?d?l
• Homophones: idol, idyll, idyl (US pronunciation)

Adjective

idle (comparative more idle, superlative most idle)

1. (obsolete) Empty, vacant.
2. Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity.
3. Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular.
4. Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful.

   • “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men, the enervated matrons of the summer capital, […]!”

5. Of no importance; useless; worthless; vain; trifling; thoughtless; silly.

6. (obsolete) Light-headed; foolish.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)

Synonyms

• (of no importance): pointless
• See also Thesaurus:lazy

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

idle (third-person singular simple present idles, present participle idling, simple past and past participle idled)

1. (transitive) To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume.
2. (intransitive) To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business.

   to idle in an IRC channel

   • 1939, Joan Evans, Chateaubriand (page 32)

     He had already heard of the young man's projected journey — evidently the Comte de Combourg had written many letters while his son idled at St. Malo […]

3. (intransitive) Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over.

Derived terms

• idler

Related terms

• (sense 3) idling speed

Translations

Noun

idle (plural idles)

1. The state of idling, of being idle.
2. (gaming) An idle animation.
3. (gaming) An idle game.

   Synonyms: idle game, incremental game

References

• idle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• idle in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• idle in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• Diel, deli, diel, eild, lied

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