as in boredom
the state of being bored
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
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Recent Examples of ennui
Seesawing stock prices fuel their ennui.
—
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
Utensils with Staying Power I’ve purged most of my cooking utensils in the past few years, motivated in part by the great black-plastic freakout, and in part by simple ennui.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Among the notable new names set to walk the halls of the ennui-addled series are Natasha Lyonne, Eli Roth, YouTube icon Trisha Paytas, True Blood star Sam Trammell, and Till luminary Danielle Deadwyler.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
Chekhov mostly wrote about ennui-laden middle-class Russians trapped on their shrinking country estates.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ennui
Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 21 Nov. 2025
Utensils with Staying Power I’ve purged most of my cooking utensils in the past few years, motivated in part by the great black-plastic freakout, and in part by simple ennui.
—Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 16 Nov. 2025
Among the notable new names set to walk the halls of the ennui-addled series are Natasha Lyonne, Eli Roth, YouTube icon Trisha Paytas, True Blood star Sam Trammell, and Till luminary Danielle Deadwyler.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
Chekhov mostly wrote about ennui-laden middle-class Russians trapped on their shrinking country estates.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ennui
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ennui
boredom
Noun
-
It is driven by boredom and entitlement.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Having space to recharge helps prevent resentment and boredom.—
Amy Morin,
CNBC,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ennui.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ennui. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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