Search this site:

Thesaurus: idle


Reference


Word of the Day
competent
Definition: (adjective) having the skill and knowledge needed for a particular task; capable
Petersons.com
Add Word of the Day to your personalized My Yahoo! page:
Add to My Yahoo! View RSS Feed
About My Yahoo! and RSS »

 

idle

adjective
  1. Marked by a lack of action or activity: inactive, inert, inoperative. See action
  2. Resistant to exertion and activity: fainéant, indolent, lazy, shiftless, slothful, sluggard, sluggish. Informal: do-nothing. Idiom: bone lazy. See action, industrious
  3. Not occupied or put to use: inactive, unemployed, unused, vacant. See used
  4. Lacking value, use, or substance: empty, hollow, otiose, vacant, vain. See full
  5. Having no basis or foundation in fact: baseless, bottomless, groundless, unfounded, unwarranted. See true
verb
  1. To pass time without working or in avoiding work: bum 1 (around), laze, loaf, loiter, lounge, shirk. Slang: diddle 2, goldbrick, goof (off). See industrious
  2. To pass (time) without working or in avoiding work. Also used with away: dawdle (away), fiddle away, kill 1, trifle away, waste, while (away), wile (away). See industrious
  3. To cause to cease regular activity: immobilize, stop, tie up. Idiom: bring to a screeching halt. See continue

Search Thesaurus:
 

 More on Yahoo! Education
 • Online and On-Campus Degree Programs
    MBAs  -  Technology Management  -  Education  -  Health  -  More

 • College & Grad School - A Comprehensive Guide
    College Search  -  Test Prep  -  Application Tips  -  Scholarship Search
 

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of The American Heritage® Dictionary.
Copyright © 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Other Important Information
-