idly

adverb

ˈī-dᵊl-ē How to pronounce idly (audio)
ˈīd-lē
: in an idle manner: such as
a
: without much thought, effort or attention
idly staring out the window
idly flipping from one channel to another
Harry … doodled idly on his parchment ignoring Hermione's frequent glares and nudges …J. K. Rowling
b
: in a lazy or inactive manner or state
sat with her hands resting idly in her lap
spent the day lying idly on the couch
Barber left London the next day, and for six months sat idly in Addis Ababa waiting for something to happen.Waverly Root
c
: without taking any action
"The time has come to speak," she said. "I cannot stand idly by [=do nothing] and see a young man going to perdition!"P. G. Wodehouse
… a party who has been wronged by a breach of contract may not unreasonably sit idly by and allow damages to accumulate.John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo

Examples of idly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Solving For Success Today’s CFOs can’t sit idly by, waiting for the IT department to deliver trustworthy data. Melanie Payne, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 And then … karma, who isn’t held off idly or easily, put sand in long snapper Tyler Ott’s arms and threw off the timing of what most of us think is the easiest thing to do on a football field: kick an extra point. David Aldridge, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024 But then Nagorno-Karabakh was seized by Baku in December 2022 and following a nine-month blockade over 100,000 Armenians were forcibly expelled, during which those Russian peacekeepers stood idly by. Charlie Campbell / Yerevan, TIME, 22 Oct. 2024 Typically at this point of the season, the Broncos are killing the vibe, standing idly with their hands in their pockets, taking up space. Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for idly 

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of idly was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near idly

Cite this Entry

“Idly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idly. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

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