listless
adj/ˈlɪstlɪs/ · /ˈlɪstləs/
Etymology From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) + -less. Compare German lustlos and Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.
1
Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
- 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:
- 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:
2 more examples
- 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:
- “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:
- Derived terms
- listlessly, listlessness