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
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
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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Where the first half of the 1600 conversation explored how young men are drifting toward the right through grievance, alienation and algorithmic content, this installment challenges Democrats to confront their own inertia.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
American inertia has become a global liability.—
John Wihbey,
Time,
20 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Millions of Americans are now learning about these drastic increases from their health insurers, a direct consequence of Republican inaction.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
21 Oct. 2025
-
That was when PeerK12 alerted the district to the human swastika display and the inaction of SDA administrators.—
Marsha Sutton,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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His girlfriend, Charlotte Kurek, 31, faces two counts of chronic child neglect, one of which resulted in death.—
Adrienne Davis,
jsonline.com,
23 Oct. 2025
-
Children enter foster care for reasons beyond their control – often because of abuse, neglect, or the ripple effects of addiction, incarceration, or untreated mental health conditions in their homes.—
Laura Rivera,
Denver Post,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The world does seem full of unhappiness and tragedy, much of it human-caused, either through outright cruelty or through the indolence of our illusions.—
Philip Metres
July 30,
Literary Hub,
30 July 2025
-
Their waiter’s indolence meant a long wait even for menus, yet neither of them let drop a word of complaint.—
Jim Shepard,
New Yorker,
8 June 2025
Noun
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But this past July, Baldwin’s own civil suit was dismissed because of inactivity.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
-
The bar was suspended due to inactivity.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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As the demand for Ghana’s goods decreased, so did the need for the industrial railway line, leading to its disuse.—
Edna Bonhomme,
Artforum,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The muscles in his arms started to atrophy from disuse.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Assa Diawara, 30, was taken into custody early Wednesday in Queens on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the New York Police Department.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
22 Oct. 2025
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She was arrested on charges of abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child early Wednesday morning, an update from the New York Police Department said.—
Pilar Arias,
FOXNews.com,
22 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In the end, though, Black Phone 2’s relationship to Nightmare on Elm Street feels less like plagiarism than narrative laziness — but if the Grabber returns in a few years to fight Jason Voorhees, Freddy might want to consult a lawyer.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
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What started as the follow-up to D’Angelo’s 1995 platinum debut, Brown Sugar (written and recorded entirely by D’Angelo in his mother’s house in Richmond, Virginia), became five years of study at Soul University, complete with classes, pranks, gossip and equal amounts of discipline and laziness.—
Touré,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idleness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idleness. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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