lackadaisical

adjective

lack·​a·​dai·​si·​cal ˌla-kə-ˈdā-zi-kəl 

: lacking life, spirit, or zest : languid

teachers who are impatient with lackadaisical students

lackadaisically

ˌla-kə-ˈdā-zi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

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Where does lackadaisical come from?

We're too enthusiastic about the lexicon to be lackadaisical about words, but lackadaisical itself is rooted in the sort of sorrow that can put a damper on one's passion for vocabulary expansion. When folks living from the late 17th to the late 19th century had one of those days when nothing goes right, they could cry "Lackaday!" to express their sorrow and disappointment as a shortened form of the expression "alack the day." (Alack is an interjection used to express sorrow or regret.) By the mid-1700s, the adjective lackadaisical had been formed to describe such weary and exasperated folks, as well as their half-hearted doings and sayings. Today the word has lost some of its dreariness and most often describes the languid and lazy.

Synonyms of lackadaisical

• listless
• tired
• languorous
• spiritless
• languid
• exhausted
• weak
• sleepy
• lazy
• limp
• languishing
• weary

Choose the Right Synonym for lackadaisical

languid, languorous, lackadaisical, listless, spiritless mean lacking energy or enthusiasm.

languid refers to an unwillingness or inability to exert oneself due to fatigue or physical weakness.

was depressed and languid for weeks after surgery

languorous suggests a dreamy boredom and delicacy that avoids unnecessary activity.

languorous cats lying in the sun

lackadaisical implies a carefree indifference marked by half-hearted efforts.

lackadaisical college seniors pretending to study

listless suggests a lack of interest caused by physical weakness or dissatisfied boredom.

listless hospital patients

listless children flipping through picture books on a rainy day

spiritless refers to a lack of animation or vigor that gives one's actions and words life.

a spiritless recital of the poem

Examples of lackadaisical in a Sentence

His teachers did not approve of his lackadaisical approach to homework.

feeling particularly lackadaisical in the summer heat, they lazily tossed a ball back and forth

Recent Examples on the Web

Whitmore appeared in 21 games last season before coach Brian Keefe benched him in early December because of Whitmore’s lack of passing on offense and lackadaisical defense. — Josh Robbins, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Its knit fabric never requires an iron or steamer, and it’s held up through countless washes without pilling despite my lackadaisical approach to laundry. — Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026

Yet the procedural is so formulaic and the twists so unbelievable that even the most lackadaisical viewer will likely solve the mysteries long before the truth is revealed. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026

Alexander Klose-Mozer, CEO of EuroEV and Managing Director of KM Electron, has been critical of European manufacturers’ lackadaisical approach to cheaper EVs. — Neil Winton, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

irregular from lackaday + -ical

First Known Use

1768, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

lackadaisical

adjective

lack·​a·​dai·​si·​cal ˌlak-ə-ˈdā-zi-kəl 

: lacking spirit or enthusiasm : languid, listless

lackadaisically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb