Kevin
October 23, 2021
Common Questions
Do you know the definition of idle? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the word idle, including its definition, usage, word origin, example sentences, and more!
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According to Definitions and Collins English Dictionary, the word idle can be used as an adjective or a verb. As an adjective, the word idle can mean not in action or at work, the state of a mechanism or engine that is idling, something that is baseless, groundless, unfounded, unwarranted, or without a basis in reason or fact, not in active use, silly, trivial, not yielding a return, not having a job, having a reprehensible unwillingness or lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility. Many things can be idle, such as a car engine running at idle, an idle laborer, the idle rich, an idle mind, idle drifters, allegations proved groundless, idle fears, unfounded suspicions, unwarranted jealousy, idle gossip spoken with a loose tongue, idle hands, idle machinery or the state of an engine, idle men, idle pleasure, idle talk, light idle chatter, idle funds, idle carpenters, and more.
Idle can also be used as a verb meaning to waste, to run at a low speed or out of gear in reference to a shaft or engine, to be on vacation, to tick-over, to spend time doing nothing, to perform little or no exertion, or to be unemployed. The pronunciation of idle is aɪd l, and idle is two syllables – i-dle. One can add different suffixes to create different tenses of idle such as the present participle or past tense, as well as to form related words like idly (adv.).
Many other languages also contain words that mean idle. You may notice that many of these words look and sound similar to the word idle. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases that mean the same thing as well as look and sound similar between languages. These are often formed when two words have the same root word or language of origin like Latin or Greek. This list of translations for the word idle is provided by Word Sense.
According to Etymonline, the word idle has been used since the Middle English idel and Old English īdel. These come from the Proto-West Germanic idle which is also the source of the German eitel, Old High German ītal, Old Saxon idal, Old Frisian idel, and more. These words are of unknown origin.
There are many different ways that the word idle can be used in a sentence. Below are a couple of examples to help get you started.
Brit was an indolent person in a changeless situation – she was always idle and felt like a burden to her family.
Despite being retired, the old man could not remain idle. The contented fisherman decided to do useful work and DIY his porch.
There are many different words and phrases that a person can use in place of the word idle. These are called synonyms, which are words and phrases that have the same meaning as another word or phrase. Synonyms are useful to know if you are trying not to repeat yourself in conversation or a written work, as well as if you are trying to expand your vocabulary. This list of synonyms for the word idle is provided by Power Thesaurus.
There are also numerous different words that mean the opposite of the word idle. These opposite words are called antonyms. Antonyms are another great tool to use to expand your English language vocabulary. This list of antonyms for the word idle is provided by Power Thesaurus as well.
Overall, the word idle means at rest or unmoving. This word is Proto-Germanic in origin.
