idleness

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun having no employment
  2. noun the quality of lacking substance or value
  3. noun the trait of being idle out of a reluctance to work

Etymology

From Middle English ydelnesse, from Old English īdelnes, from Proto-West Germanic *īdalnassī, equivalent to idle + -ness. Cognate with Old Frisian īdelnisse (“idelness”), obsolete Dutch ijdelnis, Old Saxon īdalnussi (“idleness, vanity”), Old High German ītalnissa (“idleness, vanity, emptiness”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

idling, loafing

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