different between thoughtless vs listless

English

Etymology

thought +? -less

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /????tl?s/, /????tl?s/
• (General American) enPR: thôt’l?s, thôt’l?s, IPA^(key): /???tl?s/, /???tl?s/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: thät’l?s, thät’l?s, IPA^(key): /???tl?s/, /???tl?s/

Adjective

thoughtless (comparative more thoughtless, superlative most thoughtless)

1. Marked by or showing lack of due thought or care; careless.
2. Inconsiderate, inattentive.

   A thoughtless remark.

3. Lacking thought or consideration.

   The debate turned into thoughtless bickering.

Coordinate terms

• short-sighted

Derived terms

• thoughtlessly
• thoughtlessness

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