listless 1 of 2

listlessness

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noun

1
as in boredom
physical or mental inertness following a couple of big mistakes early in the game, the team sank into an uncharacteristic listlessness and was never able to recover the lead

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

2
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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of listless
Adjective
Joonas Korpisalo bore the brunt of another listless night and made some errors of his own, stopping 31 shots. Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2025 State of play: Most of those 180 minutes were improvements over than the blowout loss and listless draw from last week. Andrew King, Axios, 18 Mar. 2025 The Nuggets were often listless defensively. Sam Amick, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025 When intentionally chosen, the right scent can even shift your mood—lifting you out of a listless haze or helping ease a frantic pace. Lauren Thomann, Better Homes & Gardens, 9 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for listless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for listless
Adjective
  • At this point in the Trump show, the famously unpredictable president seems to be following a script as tired as any other long-running, low-brow procedural.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2025
  • He’s grown tired of being optioned back and forth from the minor leagues.
    Tim Britton, New York Times, 3 May 2025
Noun
  • Over time, chronic stress can lead to social isolation, boredom, and lack of physical activity, which negatively impacts both the emotional and physical health of shelter animals.
    Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
  • The border was so quiet that National Guardsmen were reportedly struggling with boredom.
    Stephania Taladrid, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Without the puck, Nurse and Bouchard have the same weakness (read and react, wandering).
    Allan Mitchell, New York Times, 3 May 2025
  • Soft data like consumer confidence survey, polling and jobless claims show signs of economic weakness.
    Alain Sherter, CBS News, 2 May 2025
Adjective
  • The Senators looked spiritless days ago in their building Saturday night ahead of Game 4.
    Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
  • Amid the spiritless spirits and a bevy of alcohol-free wines, ciders, and beers, luxury sparkling teas are comfortably the most exciting emerging trend in the low and no-alcohol sphere.
    Camille Berry, Vogue, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Context Forty years ago in Azerbaijan in the south Caucuses region of western Asia, the laconic lethargy of Soviet bulk wine production was walloped by planned vineyard destruction.
    Tom Mullen, Forbes.com, 11 May 2025
  • Imagine the possibilities to overcome political lethargy on these issues if voters had meaningful power to initiate change on their own.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • In addition to exhaustion and dehydration, mountaineers can also find themselves at risk of avalanches, hypothermia and falling.
    Amy Woodyatt, CNN Money, 13 May 2025
  • The cost of this mental churning extends beyond personal exhaustion.
    Melody Wilding, Forbes.com, 13 May 2025
Adjective
  • Humanitarian groups like the UN World Food Programme (WFP) exhausted supplies of basic staples weeks ago, forcing them to shut down their kitchens and bakeries, and everyday Palestinians are grinding up pasta and lentils to make flour for bread.
    NPR, NPR, 14 May 2025
  • The music video concludes with an exhausted and bloody Charli on the baggage claim carousel.
    Marina Watts, People.com, 14 May 2025
Noun
  • Maryland, which trailed 20-9 midway through the first half, stumbled out of its early stupor and went on a 7-0 run to get back in the game.
    Christian Babcock, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025
  • German movies of the 1970s will forever be linked with the New German Cinema movement, the auteur directors — led by the likes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders, Margarethe von Trotta and Volker Schlöndorff — who shook the country out of its postwar stupor.
    Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Listless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listless. Accessed 18 May. 2025.

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