different between idle vs stationary

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 Latin stationarius, from statio, ultimately from st? (“to stand”). Doublet of stationer.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?ste??(?)n(?)?i/
• (US) enPR: st??sh?-n?r'?, IPA^(key): /?ste????n??i/
• Homophone: stationery
• Hyphenation: sta?tion?ary

Adjective

stationary (not comparable)

1. Not moving.

   The train remained stationary for a few moments, before lurching forward along the track.

2. incapable of being moved
3. unchanging

Synonyms

• (not moving): fixed, immobile, motionless, still, stock-still, unmoving
• (incapable of being moved): immobile, unmoveable
• (unchanging): changeless, constant, immutable, unchanging

Antonyms

• (not moving): in motion, moving, on the move
• (incapable of being moved): mobile, moveable
• (unchanging): changing, mutable, variable

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

stationary (plural stationaries)

1. One who, or that which, is stationary, such as a planet when apparently it has neither progressive nor retrograde motion.

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

2. Misspelling of stationery.

See also

• stationary point
• stationery