SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
indolent
adjective
Inclined to avoid work or exertion.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
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A useful distinction
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Inclined to avoid work or exertion
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
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Usage distinction
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RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The indolent family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
indolencenoun
A habitual reluctance to exert effort.
Avoidance of effort
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Related expressions
The fable presents indolence as the reason the orchard is neglected.
In a workshop fable, an apprentice's indolence leaves simple cleaning tasks undone because he habitually avoids effort whenever another person might take over.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See indolent in use
The indolent apprentice waited for others to finish the task.
The satire's indolent hero spends every afternoon inventing excuses.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license