idleness
gb/ˈaɪdəlnəs/ us/ˈaɪdəlnəs/
C1
Inglês
~ 7200
Acepções
0 acepção
Substantivo
C1
state
1
state of not being active
A state when a person or thing is not working or not doing any activity for a time.
Padrão de uso:
[someone]'s idleness; a period of idleness
Erro comum:
Learners sometimes think 'idleness' always means a bad moral quality like laziness. In this sense, it can be neutral and simply describe a time when no work or activity is happening, often because of outside reasons.
Sinônimos
inactivity (Neutral term focusing simply on not being active, without strong moral judgment.)
|
unemployment (Refers specifically to not having a job, while idleness can be any kind of non-activity.)
Antônimos
activity (General opposite, stressing being busy or engaged in actions.)
|
work (Opposite in the context of job or productive tasks.)
Colocações
a period of idleness
|hours of idleness
|moments of idleness
|forced idleness
|in his/her idleness
|during their idleness
Temas
work
|lifestyle
|time
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- After the accident, months of enforced idleness left him frustrated and bored.
- The factory’s idleness during the strike cost the company millions.
- A little idleness on a Sunday afternoon can be surprisingly refreshing.
- Her mind would wander during moments of idleness at the office.
- The long idleness between projects made the team restless.
Exemplos para estudantes
- After surgery, she had two weeks of idleness at home.
- The long idleness in winter made him feel sad.
- During his idleness, he read many books.
- There was a period of idleness when the machine was not used.
- I enjoy some idleness on Saturday mornings.
Substantivo
C1
property
2
habitual laziness or unwillingness to work
A regular habit of not wanting to work or make an effort, which people usually see as bad.
Padrão de uso:
[someone]'s idleness; idleness leads to [something]
Erro comum:
Learners may confuse 'idleness' with 'idolness' (not a word) or mix it up with 'idle' and 'ideal'. Also, some think 'idleness' is always temporary, but in this sense it is a long-term habit or character trait.
Sinônimos
laziness (Very close in meaning; more common in everyday speech and clearly negative.)
|
sloth (More formal or literary, sometimes with religious or moral overtones.)
Antônimos
industry (Formal word emphasizing steady, hard, and serious work as the opposite of idleness.)
|
diligence (Stresses careful, persistent effort, the positive opposite of habitual idleness.)
Colocações
a life of idleness
|encourage idleness
|punish idleness
|born of idleness
|his/her sheer idleness
|criticize [someone]'s idleness
Temas
personality
|work
|morality
|core_vocabulary
Exemplos
- His career stalled because of his own idleness and lack of ambition.
- She accused the government of rewarding idleness instead of hard work.
- Their son’s idleness worried them more than his poor grades.
- He hid his idleness behind clever excuses and fake busyness.
- Over time, her idleness turned into a serious problem for the small family business.
Exemplos para estudantes
- His idleness makes other workers angry.
- The teacher does not accept idleness in class.
- Because of his idleness, he lost his job.
- Her success is the result of hard work, not idleness.
- Idleness can stop you from reaching your goals.
Gramática
Expressões
a life of idleness
1/ə lˈaɪf əv ˈaɪdəlnəs/
fixed phrase
habitually lazy way of living
A way of living where a person almost never works and avoids effort.
Exemplos
- He dreamed of a life of idleness on a sunny beach, far from deadlines and emails.
- Her parents worried that the inheritance would allow her to live a life of idleness.
idleness is the devil's workshop
1/ˈaɪdəlnəs ˈɪz ðə dˈɛvəlz wˈɚkʃˌɑp/
idiom
literary
doing nothing leads to trouble
If people have nothing to do, they are more likely to do bad or foolish things.
Exemplos
- My grandfather often said that idleness is the devil's workshop and kept us busy with chores.
- The program is based on the idea that idleness is the devil's workshop, so it gives teenagers many after-school activities.
out of sheer idleness
1/ˈaʊt əv ʃˈɪɹ ˈaɪdəlnəs/
fixed phrase
for no reason except boredom
Because there is nothing else to do and you are not busy with any real activity.
Exemplos
- He started scrolling through old messages out of sheer idleness.
- She learned a few magic tricks out of sheer idleness during the long summer holiday.