idle
adjective
[ ˈʌɪd(ə)l ]
• (of a person) avoiding work; lazy.
• "idle students"
Similar:
lazy,
indolent,
slothful,
work-shy,
shiftless,
loafing,
inactive,
inert,
sluggish,
lethargic,
languorous,
listless,
torpid,
remiss,
negligent,
slack,
lax,
lackadaisical,
impassive,
good-for-nothing,
do-nothing,
leisurely,
bone idle,
fainéant,
otiose,
• without purpose or effect; pointless.
• "he did not want to waste valuable time in idle chatter"
Similar:
frivolous,
trivial,
trifling,
minor,
petty,
foolish,
lightweight,
shallow,
superficial,
insignificant,
unimportant,
worthless,
valueless,
pointless,
paltry,
niggling,
peripheral,
without depth,
inane,
fatuous,
senseless,
meaningless,
purposeless,
unnecessary,
time-wasting,
idle
verb
• spend time doing nothing.
• "four men were idling outside the shop"
Similar:
do nothing,
be inactive,
vegetate,
sit back,
take it easy,
rest on one's oars,
mark time,
kick one's heels,
twiddle one's thumbs,
kill time,
languish,
laze (about),
laze (around),
lounge (about),
lounge (around),
loll (about),
loll (around),
loaf (about),
loaf (around),
slouch (about),
slouch (around),
go to seed,
degenerate,
moulder,
stagnate,
hang around,
hang about,
veg out,
mooch about,
mooch around,
slummock,
bum around,
bat around,
lollygag,
lay on one's oars,
fritter,
while,
laze,
loiter,
pass,
spend,
use,
employ,
use up,
occupy,
take up,
fill up,
fill in,
fill,
beguile,
expend,
devote,
waste,
dissipate,
kill,
• (of an engine) run slowly while disconnected from a load or out of gear.
• "Nadine kept the engine idling"
Similar:
tick over,
run slowly in neutral,
Origin:
Old English īdel ‘empty, useless’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch ijdel ‘vain, frivolous, useless’ and German eitel ‘bare, worthless’.
