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

And, when the military was eventually deployed, the most visible intervention was thousands of armed men controlling traffic and standing idly by the ruins. — Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

Gosha, a local station master, has a side-hustle of his own, turning a blind eye while bootleggers siphon diesel from the tankers that sit idly on the train tracks. — Damon Wise, Deadline, 11 July 2026

The West Bank has seen a surge of settler violence – some with instances of Israeli soldiers standing idly by – in conjunction with the Israeli government rapidly expanding settlements throughout the territory. — Kaanita Iyer, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Leaning on Christos Stylianides’ tasteful trumpet and Jesse Chandler’s flute, the song finds the singer not waiting idly for life to pass by. — David Harris, SPIN, 29 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for idly

• widely
• impliedly
• unqualifiedly