a. | 1. | Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; thoughtless; silly; barren. | |||||||||
2. | Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; | ||||||||||
3. | Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing; | ||||||||||
4. | Given rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; slothful; | ||||||||||
5. | Light-headed; foolish.
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v. i. | 1. | To lose or spend time in inaction, or without being employed in business. | |||||||||
v. t. | 1. | To spend in idleness; to waste; to consume; - often followed by away; |
Verb | 1. | idle - run disconnected or idle; "the engine is idling" Synonyms: tick over Antonyms: run - be operating, running or functioning; "The car is still running--turn it off!" |
2. | idle - be idle; exist in a changeless situation; "The old man sat and stagnated on his porch"; "He slugged in bed all morning" Antonyms: work - exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity; "I will work hard to improve my grades"; "she worked hard for better living conditions for the poor" | |
Adj. | 1. | idle - not in action or at work; "an idle laborer"; "idle drifters"; "the idle rich"; "an idle mind" Antonyms: busy - actively or fully engaged or occupied; "busy with her work"; "a busy man"; "too busy to eat lunch"; "the line is busy" |
2. | idle - without a basis in reason or fact; "baseless gossip"; "the allegations proved groundless"; "idle fears"; "unfounded suspicions"; "unwarranted jealousy" | |
3. | idle - not in active use; "the machinery sat idle during the strike"; "idle hands" Synonyms: unused | |
4. | idle - silly or trivial; "idle pleasure"; "light banter"; "light idle chatter" Synonyms: light | |
5. | idle - lacking a sense of restraint or responsibility; "idle talk"; "a loose tongue" Synonyms: loose | |
6. | idle - not yielding a return; "dead capital"; "idle funds" Synonyms: dead | |
7. | idle - not having a job; "idle carpenters"; "jobless transients"; "many people in the area were out of work" Synonyms: jobless, out of work |