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Listless vs Indifferent - What's the difference?

listless | indifferent | Related terms |

Listless is a related term of indifferent.


As an adjective listless

is lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.

As a verb indifferent is

.

listless

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
  • * 1818 , , Frankenstein , ch. 18:
    • 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 , , The Stokesley Secret , ch. 6:
    • 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 , , The Hero , ch. 21:
    • The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.
  • * 2005 Nov. 29, Aryn Baker, " John Hardy: Bali Guy," Time :
    • “Listless , inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

    Derived terms

    * listlessly * listlessness

    Anagrams

    *

    indifferent

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Not caring or concerned; uninterested, apathetic.
    • He was indifferent to the proposal, since it didn't affect him, either way.
  • Mediocre, usually used negatively in modern usage.
    • The long distance and the indifferent roads made the journey impossible.
    The performance of Blue Jays has been '''indifferent'' this season.
  • * Sir Walter Scott
    • The staterooms are in indifferent order.
  • Having no preference or bias, being impartial.
    • ''I am indifferent between the two plans.
  • * Addison
    • indifferent in his choice to sleep or die
  • Not making a difference; without significance or importance.
    • Even if one appliance consumes an indifferent amount of energy when left on stand-by overnight, together they can represent 10% of the electricity demand of a household.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Dangers are to me indifferent .
  • * Jeremy Taylor
    • Everything in the world is indifferent but sin.
  • * Nathaniel Hawthorne
    • His slightest and most indifferent acts were odious in the clergyman's sight.
  • (mechanics) Being in the state of neutral equilibrium.

    • Quotations

    * , act 4, scene 1: *: Let their heads be sleekly combed their blue coats brushed and their garters of an indifferent knit

    Adverb

  • (obsolete) To some extent, in some degree (intermediate between very'' and ''not at all ); moderately, tolerably, fairly.
    • The face of the Moon appearing to me to be full of indifferent high mountains...

    Usage notes

    * Now obsolete, but very common c. 1600-1730.

    References

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