1
as in inertia
an inclination not to do work or engage in activities
the brothers' innate idleness meant that neither did much, either inside or outside their ramshackle cabin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inaction
lack of action or activity
a day spent in idleness is nice, but a month of doing nothing is boring!
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in neglect
lack of use
the idleness of the machine was apparent by its thick layer of dust
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 idleness
Spending healthy years in idleness isn’t good for you.
—
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
DeJean, who recorded the game-changing pick-six in Super Bowl LIX, couldn’t comprehend postseason idleness.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
This patience is watchfulness, not idleness.
—Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All of which could lead to so much work that a man like Wyatt Harper might never have another day of idleness again.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 14 Feb. 2026
DeJean, who recorded the game-changing pick-six in Super Bowl LIX, couldn’t comprehend postseason idleness.
—Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
This patience is watchfulness, not idleness.
—Francois Botha, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
All of which could lead to so much work that a man like Wyatt Harper might never have another day of idleness again.
—Literary Hub, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for idleness
Noun
-
The film meticulously depicts inertia and zero-gravity movement.—
Samantha Agate,
Kansas City Star,
3 Apr. 2026
-
Larger tires increase rotational inertia and lengthen the lever arm between hub and road, forcing the braking system to work harder.—
Bryan Rogala,
Outside,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Based on their inaction at quarterback so far, the Browns seem content to roll into 2026 with Shedeur Sanders, Dillon Gabriel or Deshaun Watson.—
Andrew McCarty,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The new security gates to curb fare evasion and improve safety (more than 80% of the crime at BART used to come from fare jumpers) were delayed for years due to budget inaction.—
Steve Glazer,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Serious Medical and Emotional Neglect Turner said Kaiko arrived in poor health, suffering from multiple medical issues and signs of prolonged neglect.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
The law also explicitly states that allowing a reasonably capable child to walk to school or travel to a nearby park unsupervised does not, by itself, constitute neglect.—
Stephen Johnson,
Big Think,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Part of his great accomplishment was to take the European aesthetic of beauty and redefine it for the South, with its heat and its billboards, its indolence and humor and thick nights.—
Hilton Als,
New Yorker,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Some part of Baudelaire’s lifelong free-spending and indolence seems to be a direct rebellion against the man, if not outright Freudian jealousy—Charles was an unabashed mama’s boy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Warming temperatures from climate change will likely lead to high levels of physical inactivity in the future, which could have significant public health implications.—
Devika Rao,
TheWeek,
23 Mar. 2026
-
Chloé Farand summed it up for the Guardian, noting the researchers’ projection of 500,000 additional annual deaths due to inactivity by 2050.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Heart muscles atrophy, or weaken from disuse, in adults who spend prolonged times in the weightlessness of space.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
-
And does a particular level of disuse have to be reached for a word to be dropped into the lexical dustbin?—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
22 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
The approaching Easter holiday often means an increase in the purchase and gifting of live rabbits, and a resulting spike in abandonments.—
Sharon Chin,
CBS News,
2 Apr. 2026
-
In spite of a seismic crossing of the technological Rubicon, an abandonment of the centuries-old deference to the naked eye, a codifying and calcifying of the most atomic-level building block of the sport, baseball mostly just looked like baseball.—
Hannah Keyser,
CNN Money,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That’s not only because judges are fining more lawyers for their laziness, but because the publicity about these embarrassments has been inescapable.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Impulsivity can be seen as bad temper, disorganization as laziness, and difficulty maintaining attention as lack of interest.—
Deldhy Nicolás Moya Sánchez,
The Conversation,
16 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Idleness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/idleness. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
