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It has been said that idleness is the parent of mischief, which is very true; but mischief itself is merely an attempt to escape from the dreary vacuum of idleness.
George Borrow

Meaning of "idleness" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF IDLENESS

idleness  [ˈaɪdəlnɪs] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF IDLENESS

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Idleness is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES IDLENESS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of idleness in the English dictionary

The first definition of idleness in the dictionary is the state of being unemployed, unoccupied, or inactive. Other definition of idleness is desire not to work; laziness. Idleness is also the state of being ineffective, powerless, fruitless, or vain.


WORDS THAT RHYME WITH IDLENESS


audibleness
ˈɔːdɪbəlnɪs
brittleness
ˈbrɪtəlnɪs
casualness
ˈkæʒʊəlnɪs
excitableness
ɪkˈsaɪtəbəlnɪs
fickleness
ˈfɪk əlnɪs
gentleness
ˈdʒɛntəlnɪs
gradualness
ˈɡrædjʊəlnɪs
inscribableness
ɪnˈskraɪbəbəlnɪs
ismaticalness
ɪzˈmætɪkəlnɪs
majesticalness
məˈdʒɛstɪkəlnɪs
naturalness
ˈnætʃərəlnɪs
pharisaicalness
ˌfærɪˈseɪɪkəlnɪs
practicalness
ˈpræktɪkəlnɪs
prosaicalness
prəʊˈzeɪɪkəlnɪs
rewardableness
rɪˈwɔːdəbəlnɪs
sporadicalness
spəˈrædɪkəlnɪs
suppleness
ˈsʌpəlnɪs
temptableness
ˈtɛmptəbəlnɪs
unclimbableness
ʌnˈklaɪməbəlnɪs
wrathfulness
ˈrɒθfəlnɪs

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE IDLENESS

idiot-proof
idiotic
idiotically
idioticalness
idiotism
idiots savants
idle
idle pulley
idle time
idle wheel
idler
idler pulley
idler shaft
idling
idly
IDN
Ido
idocrase
idol
idolater

WORDS THAT END LIKE IDLENESS

adhesiveness
appropriateness
attentiveness
attractiveness
awareness
awesomeness
brand awareness
business
closeness
competitiveness
completeness
cost-effectiveness
cuteness
effectiveness
hoarseness
likeness
oneness
responsiveness
self-awareness
soreness
uniqueness

Synonyms and antonyms of idleness in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «IDLENESS»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «idleness» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of idleness

Translation of «idleness» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF IDLENESS

Find out the translation of idleness to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of idleness from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «idleness» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

闲置
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

ociosidad
570 millions of speakers

English

idleness
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

आलस्य
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

الكسل
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

безделье
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

ociosidade
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

কর্মহীনতা
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

oisiveté
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Konyol
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Nichtstun
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

怠惰
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

게으름
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Kepenak
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

vô ích
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

வேலையில்லா
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

आळशीपणा
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

tembellik
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

ozio
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

bezczynność
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

неробство
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

lene
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

απραξία
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

ledigheid
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

sysslolöshet
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

lediggang
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of idleness

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «IDLENESS»

The term «idleness» is regularly used and occupies the 76.355 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Regularly used
65
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «idleness» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of idleness
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «idleness».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «IDLENESS» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «idleness» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «idleness» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about idleness

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «IDLENESS»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word idleness.
1
Karen Allen
Idleness does drive me crazy, but I'd rather read or write than do anything just to work. A kind of respect has been instilled in me for acting: I love it too much to ever have a bad relationship with it.
2
Anne Baxter
Idleness is a constant sin, and labor is a duty. idleness is the devil's home for temptation and for unprofitable, distracting musings; while labor profit others and ourselves.
3
George Borrow
It has been said that idleness is the parent of mischief, which is very true; but mischief itself is merely an attempt to escape from the dreary vacuum of idleness.
4
Julie Burchill
Gluttony and idleness are two of life's great joys, but they are not honourable.
5
Robert Burton
Idleness is an appendix to nobility.
6
Miguel de Cervantes
Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness, its opposite, never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.
7
Agatha Christie
I don't think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness - to save oneself trouble.
8
William J. Clinton
It's heartbreaking to see so many people trapped in a web of enforced idleness, deep debt, and gnawing self-doubt.
9
Sidonie Gabrielle Colette
Smokers, male and female, inject and excuse idleness in their lives every time they light a cigarette.
10
Jeremy Collier
Idleness is an inlet to disorder, and makes way for licentiousness. People who have nothing to do are quickly tired of their own company.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «IDLENESS»

Discover the use of idleness in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to idleness and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Essays in Idleness
YOSHIDA KENKO (1283-1352) was a Buddhist priest, a reclusive scholar and poet who had ties to the aristocracy of medieval Japan.
Yoshida Kenko, 2009
2
In Praise of Idleness and Other Essays
So claims Bertrand Russell at the outset of 'In Praise of Idleness', a collection of essays in which he espouses the virtues of cool reflection and free enquiry; a voice of calm in a world of maddening unreason.
Bertrand Russell, 2004
3
The Anxieties of Idleness: Idleness in Eighteenth-century ...
Idleness was also a concern for writers of the day, as writing became a money-earning profession. Jordan examines the lives and works of two writers especially obsessed with idleness, Samuel Johnson and William Cowper.
Sarah Jordan, 2003
4
Love-in-idleness: Poems
Poetry. LBGT Studies. "If I were to reduce this book to a single letter, it would be O. Opulence, obsession, orgasm and opera all start with an open throat, a gape, a release of pent-up desire.
Christopher Hennessy, 2011
5
Idleness, Water, and a Canoe: Reflections on Paddling for ...
This book describes the cultural significance of two centuries of recreational paddling in Canada, illustrating through contemporary interviews and published sources what the experience of canoeing has meant to the sport's participants.
Jamie Benidickson, 1997
6
Idleness Working: The Discourse of Love's Labor from Ovid ...
A study of key works in the Western literature of love from classical Rome to the late middle ages which focuses on the ideologically saturated discourse of love's labour contained in them, and thus explores them in the context of ancient ...
Gregory M. Sadlek, 2004
7
Love in Idleness
Anna Raine is desperate: to escape Somerset, to evade her mother, and above all to find a model of adulthood on whom to base her future self.
Charlotte Mendelson, 2013
8
The Courts of Idleness
These comic stories are set during World War I and the period just after, when the genteel world of Edwardian England had changed beyond recognition.
Dornford Yates, 2001
9
Love in Idleness
Everyone falls in love, though not with the people they expect, and the results are surprising and hilarious. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Amanda Craig, 2007
10
Idleness, Contemplation and the Aesthetic, 1750–1830
Exploring the work of Adam Smith, Jeremy Bentham, Friedrich Schiller, William Cowper, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary Wollstonecraft and many of their contemporaries, this study pinpoints a debate over human activity and capability taking ...
Richard Adelman, 2011

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «IDLENESS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term idleness is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Prison education must improve, Michael Gove says - BBC News
... collectively to blame for the failure to "redeem and rehabilitate" offenders, and he will call for an end to the "idleness and futility" of prison life. «BBC News, Jul 15»
2
Guest column: Rikers is improving, but reform takes time - NY Daily …
We've added five hours of programming to reduce idleness and increased therapy for mentally ill inmates. These are new, non-punitive ways to ... «New York Daily News, Jul 15»
3
Uncorrectable injustice - Opinion - Jerusalem Post
He labored tirelessly toward corrective action, but time and time again his appeals met with idleness and carelessness. In January 2014, justice ... «Jerusalem Post Israel News, Jul 15»
4
I'm A Millennial and I Don't Understand My Peers—Not Even a Little Bit
Why the idleness? Where does the inability to make decisions come from? Why can't they commit? What if early on they had lost themselves in ... «New York Observer, Jul 15»
5
Godward's dancer heads to online auction house : Antiques trade …
... a 1909 oil painting of a seated figure entitled Summer Idleness: Day Dreams took £320,000 at Lawrences of Crewkerne in October 2012. «antiquestradegazette.com, Jul 15»
6
Mercury and Mars Conjunction - PostBulletin.com: Lifestyles
Under this powerful conjunction of Mercury and Mars, time stretches out before us like a lazy bear, just daring us to interrupt its idleness. «Post-Bulletin, Jul 15»
7
The New iPod Shuffle And Nano Are Not Really Apple Music …
Yesterday marked the day for updated iPod models revamped after three years of idleness and being left out. Not just a single variant of iPod ... «WCCFtech, Jul 15»
8
The Smile I Will Not Trade for Anything - Muslims 4 Humanity …
The success of subjugating our worst enemy, which is none other than our own selves: the excessive love we have for comfort, idleness and ... «Onislam.net, Jul 15»
9
Dog Mountain: Community unsettled by provincial response after fire …
That explanation may not suffice for many Valley residents, who have used the idleness of the Hawaii Mars water bomber on Sproat Lake as ... «Alberni Valley Times, Jul 15»
10
Madeira National Top Club team march on after victory over …
Now bowls may be described as, 'an afternoon spent in ends of strenuous idleness'. This was never more clearly demonstrated than in the ... «Cranbrook Herald, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Idleness [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/idleness>. Apr 2024 ».
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