listless

Definition

Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

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