Synonyms of ennui

ennui

noun

ˌän-ˈwē 

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• boredom
• restlessness
• tedium
• weariness
• melancholy
• blahs
• listlessness
• doldrums
• lethargy
• dullness
• indifference
• joylessness
• monotony
• lassitude
• languor
• cheerlessness
• torpidity
• torpor
• apathy
• lifelessness
• languidness
• unconcern
• sameness
• dispiritedness
• monotonousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• fascination
• absorption
• enchantment
• involvement
• excitement
• immersion
• engagement
• stimulation
• engrossment
• captivation
• bewitchment
• amusement
• animation
• beguilement
• relief
• entertainment
• invigoration
• diversion
• enlivenment

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ennui

Before there was The Office—British or American—there was Office Space, Mike Judge’s razor-sharp satire of middle-American corporate ennui. — Air Mail, 4 July 2026

At first Zeke seems the very embodiment of older generations’ complaints about GenZ ennui, but Rice isn’t taking cheap shots — not least since since his elders-but-not-wisers get no more flattering a portrait once George (Camp) enters the scene. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 June 2026

White’s actorly presence comes through in his vocal performance, lending the beleaguered fighter a sense of depressed world-weariness and poignant ennui. — Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 23 May 2026

Made when Dunham was in her early 20s, the film is a deadly accurate portrait of post-collegiate ennui, shot partly in her parents’ NYC apartment, and remains fresh and startlingly insightful. — Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026

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