idle

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. vain, useless, futile, fruitless, pointless, aimless; out of work, unemployed, inactive, at rest; vacant, empty. See inactivity, uselessness, unimportance.Ant., active, busy.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Unused or inactive]

Syn. unoccupied, unemployed, jobless, workless, laid-off, uncultivated, untilled, fallow, vacant, deserted, not in use, not in operation, waste, barren, void, empty, abandoned, still, quiet, motionless, resting, stagnant, dormant, inert, passive, dead, untouched, rusty, gathering dust, dusty, down, out of action, at loose ends, out of a job, out of harness*, on the bum*; see also unemployed , unused 1 .

Ant. active*, busy, engaged.

2. [Empty]

Syn. pointless, baseless, rambling, vain; see futile 1 , shallow 2 , trivial .

3. [Lazy]

Syn. indolent, shiftless, slothful; see lazy 1 .

See Synonym Study at vain . v.

Syn. slack, shirk, while away time, loaf; see loaf 1 , loiter .

See Synonym Study at loiter .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. worthless useless, vain, futile, frivolous, unproductive, pointless, irrelevant.

2. unused inactive, out of action, down, still, unemployed, quiet, dead, mothballed, empty, vacant.

3. lazy unemployed, slothful, shiftless, indolent, lethargic, loafing, sluggish, resting.

ANT.: 1. useful, valuable, productive. 2. in use, active, working. 3. active, busy, employed

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Marked by a lack of action or activity: inactive, inert, inoperative. See ACTION. 2. Resistant to exertion and activity: faineant, 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. II verb 1. To pass time without working or in avoiding work: bum1 (around), laze, loaf, loiter, lounge, shirk. Slang: diddle2, goldbrick, goof (off). See INDUSTRIOUS. 2. To pass (time) without working or in avoiding work. Also used with away: dawdle (away), fiddle away, kill1, 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.