idly

adverb

ˈī-dᵊl-ē 

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

About 80% of my wardrobe is handmade these days and part of me is always idly considering the next project. —Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025

California, Arizona, and Nevada (the Lower Basin States) have not been sitting idly by in the face of this historic drought. —Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025

Never one to sit idly by, Danny grabs his NYPD shield and goes bulldozing his way to the crime scene. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025

But the journalist didn't arrive to Mexico to sit idly by. —Paula Soria, AZCentral.com, 13 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing idly

• sit idly by
• stand idly by

Rhymes for idly

• widely
• impliedly
• unqualifiedly