listless

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɪstləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

listless (comparative more listless, superlative most listless)

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   • 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:

     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.

   • 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 6, in The Stokesley Secret:

     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!

   • 1901, William Somerset Maugham, chapter 21, in The Hero:

     The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.

   • 2005 November 29, Aryn Baker, “John Hardy: Bali Guy”, in Time:

     “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

Derived terms

• listlessly
• listlessness

Translations

Lacking enthusiasm

• Bulgarian: равнодушен (bg) (ravnodušen), апатичен (bg) (apatičen)
• Catalan: apàtic (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無精打采 (zh) (wú jīng dǎ cǎi)

• Dutch: lusteloos (nl)
• Esperanto: senenergia
• Finnish: välinpitämätön (fi), innoton (fi), voimaton (fi)
• French: apathique (fr), indolent (fr)
• German: lasch (de), lustlos (de), antriebslos (de)
• Greek: νωθρός (el) m (nothrós), άτονος (el) m (átonos)

  Ancient: νωθρός (nōthrós)

• Hungarian: fásult (hu)
• Irish: díbheo, neamh-anamúil, fuairnéalach, fuaránta, fuarbhruite, fuarspreosach, lagspreosach
• Italian: apatico (it), spento (it)
• Japanese: 物憂げ (ものうげ, monouge)
• Latin: languidus
• Malay:
• Maori: toupiore, anuhea, iwingohe, waikorohuhō, ārangirangi, tauwherū, ārangirangi, hangenge
• Occitan: apatic (oc)
• Polish: apatyczny (pl), obojętny (pl), śnięty (pl), tępy (pl)
• Portuguese: lânguido (pt), apático (pt)
• Romanian: apatic (ro), atonic (ro)
• Russian: вя́лый (ru) (vjályj), апати́чный (ru) (apatíčnyj), безразли́чный (ru) (bezrazlíčnyj)
• Spanish: apático (es), indiferente (es)
• Swedish: håglös (sv), likgiltig (sv), apatisk (sv), loj (sv)
• Tocharian B: kuro
• Turkish: bezgin (tr)

Anagrams

• slitless