Dictionary

listless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈlɪstlɪs/
• /ˈlɪstləs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) + -less. Compare German lustlos and Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

Meanings

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   • “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.” 2005 November 29, Aryn Baker, “John Hardy: Bali Guy”, in Time:
   • What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes! 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 6, in The Stokesley Secret:
   • I passed whole days on the lake alone in a little boat, watching the clouds, and listening to the rippling of the waves, silent and listless. 1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter I, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC, pages 2–3:
   • The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened. 1901, William Somerset Maugham, chapter 21, in The Hero:

Forms

Deriveds

listlessly · listlessness

Synonyms

tepid · nonplussed · otiose · unlively · enervated · dull · pococurante · nonchalant · unenthusiastic · unconcerned · apathistical · torpid · phlegmatic · unzealous · lethargic · uncaring · dispassionate · insensible · languid · unmoved · languorous · heartless · supine · languid · mopey · indifferent · blasé · Laodicean · world-weary · jaded · torpedinous · listless · unimpressible · shiftless · untouched · meh · unaroused · uninterested · impassive · spiritless · insouciant · cool · gallionic · lukewarm · apathetic · halfhearted · spiritless · ineffervescible · deaf · lotophagous · lackadaisical · blithe · adiaphroistic

Translations (66)

fi innoton (lacking enthusiasm) · pl obojętny (lacking enthusiasm) · ka უხალისო (lacking enthusiasm) · pl tępy (lacking enthusiasm) · fr apathique (lacking enthusiasm) · ca apàtic (lacking enthusiasm) · mi waikorohuhō (lacking enthusiasm) · ka მოთენთილი (lacking enthusiasm) · ga neamh-anamúil (lacking enthusiasm) · la languidus (lacking enthusiasm) · mi hangenge (lacking enthusiasm) · ga lagspreosach (lacking enthusiasm) · el άτονος (lacking enthusiasm) · el νωθρός (lacking enthusiasm) · txb kuro (lacking enthusiasm) · grc νωθρός (lacking enthusiasm) · es apático (lacking enthusiasm) · sv apatisk (lacking enthusiasm) · hu fásult (lacking enthusiasm) · fr indolent (lacking enthusiasm) · ro atonic (lacking enthusiasm) · ka აპათიური (lacking enthusiasm) · pl śnięty (lacking enthusiasm) · fi voimaton (lacking enthusiasm) · cmn 蔫 (lacking enthusiasm) · eo senenergia (lacking enthusiasm) · mi ārangirangi (lacking enthusiasm) · ka მოდუნებული (lacking enthusiasm) · ka ინდიფერენტული (lacking enthusiasm) · ru безразли́чный (lacking enthusiasm) · de lustlos (lacking enthusiasm) · ro apatic (lacking enthusiasm) · ota كوشك (lacking enthusiasm) · ru апати́чный (lacking enthusiasm) · de antriebslos (lacking enthusiasm) · ga díbheo (lacking enthusiasm) · oc apatic (lacking enthusiasm) · ga fuarbhruite (lacking enthusiasm) · pt apático (lacking enthusiasm) · ga fuairnéalach (lacking enthusiasm) · bg апатичен (lacking enthusiasm) · bg равнодушен (lacking enthusiasm) · sv likgiltig (lacking enthusiasm) · it spento (lacking enthusiasm) · ga fuarspreosach (lacking enthusiasm) · pl apatyczny (lacking enthusiasm) · sv loj (lacking enthusiasm) · ga marbhánta (lacking enthusiasm) · ka უენერგიო (lacking enthusiasm) · mi anuhea (lacking enthusiasm) · ga fuaránta (lacking enthusiasm) · cmn 無精打采 /无精打采 (lacking enthusiasm) · tr bezgin (lacking enthusiasm) · mi tauwherū (lacking enthusiasm) · ka უსიცოცხლო (lacking enthusiasm) · sv håglös (lacking enthusiasm) · it apatico (lacking enthusiasm) · nl lusteloos (lacking enthusiasm) · de lasch (lacking enthusiasm) · mi iwingohe (lacking enthusiasm) · ja 物憂げ (lacking enthusiasm) · fi välinpitämätön (lacking enthusiasm) · mi toupiore (lacking enthusiasm) · pt lânguido (lacking enthusiasm) · ru вя́лый (lacking enthusiasm) · es indiferente (lacking enthusiasm)