idly

adverb

ˈī-dᵊl-ē 

ˈīd-lē

: in an idle manner: such as

a

: without much thought, effort or attention

idly staring out the window

idly flipping from one channel to another

Harry … doodled idly on his parchment ignoring Hermione's frequent glares and nudges …

—J. K. Rowling

b

: in a lazy or inactive manner or state

sat with her hands resting idly in her lap

spent the day lying idly on the couch

Barber left London the next day, and for six months sat idly in Addis Ababa waiting for something to happen.

—Waverly Root

c

: without taking any action

"The time has come to speak," she said. "I cannot stand idly by [=do nothing] and see a young man going to perdition!"

—P. G. Wodehouse

… a party who has been wronged by a breach of contract may not unreasonably sit idly by and allow damages to accumulate.

—John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo

Examples of idly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Now, according to the articles, the duck paddled around with the common mallards, circling idly for crumbs of bread. —Anelise Chen, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2025

Online meetings can be dull, with participants idly staring at screens. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2025

There’s also an argument for streaming services to make money off of low-budget, (often old) content streamed idly in the background. —Ars Technica, 13 Feb. 2025

In the clip, Lamar paces around a greyscale football field, idly chatting on the phone with a friend. —Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing idly

• sit idly by
• stand idly by

Rhymes for idly

• widely
• impliedly
• unqualifiedly