| Part of Speech | Definition | |
| Expression | 1. In vain. [Obs.] ``God saith, thou shalt not take the name of thy Lord God in idle.'' --Chaucer. Syn: Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant. Usage: Idle , Indolent , Lazy . A propensity to inaction is expressed by each of these words; they differ in the cause and degree of this characteristic. Indolent denotes an habitual love to ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to busy , and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. Lazy is a stronger and more contemptuous term than indolent.[Websters]. | |
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Common Expressions: IN IDLE
| Expressions | Definition | ||
| In idle | In vain. [Obs.] ``God saith, thou shalt not take the name of thy Lord God in idle.'' --Chaucer. Syn: Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant. Usage: Idle , Indolent , Lazy . A propensity to inaction is expressed by each of these words; they differ in the cause and degree of this characteristic. Indolent denotes an habitual love to ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to busy , and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. Lazy is a stronger and more contemptuous term than indolent. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||
