as in slug
a lazy person
the hot weather turned us into a bunch of idlers
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Recent Examples of idler
His discoveries promise to upset the gaming tables of every school of thought that wagers on new and untested art for idlers’ rewards: the love of novelty, the will to make or unmake reputations, the wish to be hip or au courant.
—
Mark Greif, Harper's Magazine, 26 July 2024
Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.
—Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.
—Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022
If the flaneur is an active idler, the badaud is a stationary, passive one, ready to stare open-mouthed at any phenomenon that offers novelty or puzzlement.
—Julian Barnes, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2022
That these dialogues are a joint project of the WEF and the entitled idler next in line to the British throne is another reminder that democracy is no part of the Davos game.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 29 Oct. 2020
Mark Greif, Harper's Magazine, 26 July 2024
Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.
—Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.
—Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022
If the flaneur is an active idler, the badaud is a stationary, passive one, ready to stare open-mouthed at any phenomenon that offers novelty or puzzlement.
—Julian Barnes, The New York Review of Books, 27 Apr. 2022
That these dialogues are a joint project of the WEF and the entitled idler next in line to the British throne is another reminder that democracy is no part of the Davos game.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 29 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idler
Noun
-
Leafy greens like head and leaf lettuce, spinach, and kale typically have very few pests aside from slugs early in the growing season and require very little input beyond abundant water and nitrogen.—
Anthony Reardon,
Kansas City Star,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Sometimes, slugs would slime their way from behind the baseboards.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Low-cost drones signal new strategy For the first time, US Central Command used one-way attack drones modeled after Iran’s Shahed drones.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Although most of these missiles and drones have been shot down by air defense systems, some have reached their target.—
Issy Ronald,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Thanks to a balance of elegance and ease, the backless loafer signals a seasonal shift with less stomp, and more glide.—
Minty Mellon,
Vogue,
23 Feb. 2026
-
For some, a flat loafer can feel boring.—
Kaitlin Clapinski,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Scar then proceeds to desolate the kingdom, with the help of hyenas, while Simba, in exile, grows up to become a pleasure-hunting, grub-eating sluggard.—
Anthony Lane,
The New Yorker,
19 July 2019
-
Clearly, supervision at your job is lax, and your sluggard classmate is taking advantage of that.—
Kwame Anthony Appiah,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2017
Noun
-
The 11-million-pound rocket, stacked with the Orion capsule on top, will be carried on a moving platform known as a crawler-transporter that will move at a snail’s pace of around 1 mile per hour.—
Denise Chow,
NBC news,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Three decades later, that secret arrived on American shores like a tsunami—sheet masks, snail mucin, toner pads, pimple patches lining every retail shelf.—
David Yi,
Allure,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As older leaders retire, the days of bums on seats five days a week are likely to fade with them.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Here, in the rugged, remote Santa Cruz Mountains, one of California’s coastal ranges, the counterculture had found one of its first bucolic, dharma-bum milieus.—
Scott Eden,
Rolling Stone,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In Noah Baumbach’s 2007 movie Margot at the Wedding, Jack Black’s character, a would-be painter, former musician, and general layabout named Malcolm, is accused by his fiancée of being competitive with everyone.—
Ryu Spaeth,
Vulture,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Others reached a different conclusion: the cops were just sweeping up anybody who looked like tambay, layabouts.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Zoey’s deadbeat father, who left her as a baby to become a rock star, does not show up to do any sort of healing.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
9 Dec. 2025
-
Andres was born in Cuba to a deadbeat alcoholic who beat him, according to his attorneys.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
20 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Idler.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idler. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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