different between phlegmatic vs listless

English

Alternative forms

• phlegmatick
• phlegmaticke
• phlegmatique

Etymology

From Old French fleumatique, from Latin phlegmaticus, from Ancient Greek ??????????? (phlegmatikós), from ?????? (phlégma).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fl???mæt?k/
• Rhymes: -æt?k

Adjective

phlegmatic (comparative more phlegmatic, superlative most phlegmatic)

1. Not easily excited to action or passion; calm; sluggish.
   • 2013, A.O. Scott, “How It Looks to Think: Watch Her,” Rev. of Hannah Arendt, dir. by Margarethe von Trotta, New York Times 29 May 2013: C1. Print.

     Their friendship (immortalized in a splendid volume of letters that has clearly served as one of Ms. von Trotta's sources) is a fascinating study in cultural and temperamental contrast, an impulsive and witty American paired with a steady, phlegmatic German.

2. (archaic) Abounding in phlegm.

3. Generating, causing, or full of phlegm.

Synonyms

• (calm and reasonable, tending not to get upset): apathetic, sluggish, cold-blooded, unflappable, stoic
• See also Thesaurus:calm

Coordinate terms

• choleric
• melancholic
• sanguine

Related terms

• phlegm
• phlegmatically

Translations

Noun

phlegmatic (plural phlegmatics)

1. One who has a phlegmatic disposition.

Translations

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