Definition of LISTLESSNESS

Examples of listless in a Sentence

He became listless, answered in monosyllables, gurgled, drank a great deal of whisky, and looked with hateful eyes at everyone. —Isaiah Berlin, New York Times Book Review, 12 Apr. 1987
She looked up and saw everyone starting his work. She took out a piece of paper, feeling listless and bored as she did. —Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy, 1964
His blue eyes had lost their colour; they had a listless droop; and his mouth, losing the fulness of youth, was weak and pale. —W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
Her pretty face was wan and listless, her hair uncurled—some locks hanging lankly down, and some carelessly twisted round her head. —Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847
The heat made everyone tired and listless.
The party was a listless affair.

Recent Examples of listless from the Web

On a listless night for the Angels’ offense, Trout struck out swinging on three pitches to secure the defeat.

— pedro moura, latimes.com, "Mike Trout is back, but Angels go down swinging in 2-1, 10-inning loss to Rays," 14 July 2017
Wall Street capped a mostly listless day of trading Monday with an uneven finish for U.S. stock indexes.

— alex veiga, Philly.com, "Real estate, banks slip in U.S. markets," 11 July 2017
Wall Street capped a mostly listless day of trading Monday with an uneven finish for U.S. stock indexes.

— alex veiga, The Seattle Times, "Tech stocks gain in mixed finish for major US stock indexes," 10 July 2017
It was briefly saved and given some coherence by the genius of Obama, but is now in its default state of listless mediocrity.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Republicans Let Trump Take Over Their Party," 7 July 2017
The right-hander was hit hard and lasted just four-plus innings for the second consecutive outing on Sunday afternoon, a performance that paved the way to a listless 10-3 loss to the Miami Marlins at Miller Park.

— todd rosiak, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Guerra makes early exit after getting knocked around in Brewers loss," 2 July 2017
When Trump won the election instead, Chaffetz seemed somewhat listless.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "Jason Chaffetz Prepares to Cash In," 28 June 2017
U.S. stock indexes closed mostly higher Monday, snapping a four-day losing streak for the Dow Jones industrial average on a day of largely listless trading.

— alex veiga, Philly.com, "After slow trading day, indexes up," 27 June 2017
Now, after a listless weekend sweep at the hands of division-leading Minnesota, the conversation has become quite frustrating.

— zack meisel, cleveland.com, "An airing of grievances about the Cleveland Indians: Takes by the Lake," 26 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'listless.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of listless

Middle English listles, from ²list —see ²list

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First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

listless Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of listless

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

listless