1
as in inertia
an inclination not to do work or engage in activities
the brothers' innate idleness meant that neither did much, either inside or outside their ramshackle cabin
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inaction
lack of action or activity
a day spent in idleness is nice, but a month of doing nothing is boring!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in neglect
lack of use
the idleness of the machine was apparent by its thick layer of dust
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of idleness
Spending healthy years in idleness isn’t good for you.
—
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
DeJean, who recorded the game-changing pick-six in Super Bowl LIX, couldn’t comprehend postseason idleness.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
This patience is watchfulness, not idleness.
—Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All of which could lead to so much work that a man like Wyatt Harper might never have another day of idleness again.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
DeJean, who recorded the game-changing pick-six in Super Bowl LIX, couldn’t comprehend postseason idleness.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
This patience is watchfulness, not idleness.
—Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All of which could lead to so much work that a man like Wyatt Harper might never have another day of idleness again.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idleness
Noun
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This second season is once again poking at inertia and stasis and how romantic relationships can crumble into a series of self-destructive choices.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Manson can’t quite make up her mind about the value proposition of institutional inertia.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Convenience and inaction are often bedfellows.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
While Washington is known for its gridlock and inaction, this tax season, business owners are benefiting from the pro-growth provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut.—
Blanche Lincoln,
Boston Herald,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Among other complaints, detainees there allege systemic medical neglect and inadequate food and water.—
Foreign Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Improper cleaning can do as much damage to your deck as neglect.—
Kate Van Pelt,
The Spruce,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Part of his great accomplishment was to take the European aesthetic of beauty and redefine it for the South, with its heat and its billboards, its indolence and humor and thick nights.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
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Some part of Baudelaire’s lifelong free-spending and indolence seems to be a direct rebellion against the man, if not outright Freudian jealousy—Charles was an unabashed mama’s boy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
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These invasive pests come indoors in the fall looking for a cool, dry place to survive the winter in a state of inactivity called diapause.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
9 Apr. 2026
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Factors such as diet, stress, and inactivity can raise cholesterol levels.—
Amy Brownstein,
Verywell Health,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Heart muscles atrophy, or weaken from disuse, in adults who spend prolonged times in the weightlessness of space.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
-
And does a particular level of disuse have to be reached for a word to be dropped into the lexical dustbin?—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
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After a rash of abandonments led to infant deaths in the late 1990s, Texas became the first in the nation to pass a state law legalizing abandonment.—
Kelsy Mittauer,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
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The legislation would also open up $100,000 in grant funding to cover the cost of operation and maintenance of a water system if that town is in the midst of applying for abandonment.—
Sam Tabachnik,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Others mistakenly describe these acts as flakiness, disobedience, laziness, or personal failure in the absence of context.—
Gretchen Wittenmyer-Stone,
Kansas City Star,
10 Apr. 2026
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The unconventional approach drew immediate attention across social media, where fans debated whether the artistic choice was a clever homage, or simple laziness.—
Claire Dodds,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idleness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idleness. Accessed 18 Apr. 2026.
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