ennui

noun

en·​nui ˌän-ˈwē How to pronounce ennui (audio)
: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction : boredom

Did you know?

The French loanword ennui comes from the very same Late Latin word that gave us annoyinodiare ("to make loathsome"). We borrowed ennui several centuries after absorbing annoy into the language. Ennui deals more with boredom than irritation - and a somewhat specific sort of boredom at that. It generally refers to the feeling of jadedness that can result from living a life of too much ease. The poet Charles Lloyd described it well in his 1823 Stanzas to Ennui when he referred to that world-weary sensation as a "soul-destroying fiend" which visits with its "pale unrest / The chambers of the human breast / Where too much happiness hath fixed its home."

Examples of ennui in a Sentence

When the antiproton was discovered … it sent a wave of ennui through the physics community. Not that its discovery was unimportant, but on the basis of Dirac's theory, everybody expected it. Roger G. Newton, The Truth of Science, 1997
Chauncey and I were keen enough about our aesthetic solution to the ennui of war to try to proselytize others. He organized discussion groups with the crew; I took volunteers to visit landmarks … Louis Auchincloss, "Atlantic War," in Authors at Sea, ed. Robert Shenk1997
The attendant outside was standing on tennis balls, exercising the soles of her feet, her body swaying back and forth with the ennui of jelly. Edna O'Brien, New Yorker, 17 June 1991
Thus the days of life are consumed, one by one, without an object beyond the present moment; ever flying from the ennui of that, yet carrying it with us … Thomas Jefferson, in a letter dated 7 Feb. 1787 Thomas Jefferson: Writings1984
the kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one's hands and too little will to find something productive to do
Recent Examples on the Web When an existential crisis hits Adam, a musical Luddite contemplating suicide, his betrothed returns to assist in regulating his ennui. Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Feb. 2024 Everett Collection The Edge of Seventeen (2016) As a coming of age drama our critic compared to Heathers, The Edge of Seventeen has copious amounts of darkness and ennui lurking beneath the surface. Debby Wolfinsohn, EW.com, 15 Sep. 2023 The passion for music, for a particular singer singing a particular song, is untainted by the ennui of too many channels, too many recordings, too many choices. Emily Langer, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024 Without this piece of common etiquette, we would be pinned in place for hours by vague acquaintances spinning monologues of crushing ennui. Aj Willingham, CNN, 31 Jan. 2024 Those who prefer a gentler spin on theatrical wealth can always turn to Julian Fellowes — architect of Downton Abbey and more recently, HBO's The Gilded Age — who flavors his historical tales of upper-class ennui with stirring sweetness and dazzling, distracting beauty. EW.com, 27 Oct. 2023 The tour issues from her 2022 album of the same name, a dance record born out of a need to escape the ennui and claustrophobia of the pandemic’s prime time. Carrie Battan, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2023 Across Burbank, Warner Bros.’ DC Films was contending with its own superhero ennui. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 20 Dec. 2023 Dan McLaughlin The other three candidates will be doing battle against crippling ennui. National Review, 1 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ennui.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, from Old French enui annoyance, from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome — more at annoy

First Known Use

1732, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ennui was in 1732

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Cite this Entry

“Ennui.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ennui. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ennui

noun
en·​nui ˈän-ˈwē How to pronounce ennui (audio)
: a lack of spirit, enthusiasm, or satisfaction : boredom

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