listless

adjective

list·​less ˈlist-ləs 

: characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit

a listless melancholy attitude

listlessly adverb

listlessness noun

Synonyms

• enervated
• lackadaisical
• languid
• languishing
• languorous
• limp
• spiritless

Choose the Right Synonym for listless

languid, languorous, lackadaisical, listless, spiritless mean lacking energy or enthusiasm.

languid refers to an unwillingness or inability to exert oneself due to fatigue or physical weakness.

was depressed and languid for weeks after surgery

languorous suggests a dreamy boredom and delicacy that avoids unnecessary activity.

languorous cats lying in the sun

lackadaisical implies a carefree indifference marked by half-hearted efforts.

lackadaisical college seniors pretending to study

listless suggests a lack of interest caused by physical weakness or dissatisfied boredom.

listless hospital patients

listless children flipping through picture books on a rainy day

spiritless refers to a lack of animation or vigor that gives one's actions and words life.

a spiritless recital of the poem

Examples of listless in a Sentence

He became listless, answered in monosyllables, gurgled, drank a great deal of whisky, and looked with hateful eyes at everyone. —Isaiah Berlin, New York Times Book Review, 12 Apr. 1987

She looked up and saw everyone starting his work. She took out a piece of paper, feeling listless and bored as she did. —Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy, 1964

His blue eyes had lost their colour; they had a listless droop; and his mouth, losing the fulness of youth, was weak and pale. —W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915

Her pretty face was wan and listless, her hair uncurled—some locks hanging lankly down, and some carelessly twisted round her head. —Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847

The heat made everyone tired and listless.

The party was a listless affair.

Recent Examples on the Web

By the time the prosecution presented another version of the Vasquez video, broken into fourteen hundred and sixty-five frames, on PowerPoint slides, which show Penny and Neely’s struggle even more clearly, the jurors had begun to resemble listless schoolchildren. —Adam Iscoe, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024

Looking listless from the opening, the Sharks allowed five goals in the first period and never recovered in an unsightly 8-1 loss to the Lightning at Amalie Arena. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 5 Dec. 2024

Deji looked listless through the first two rounds before finding a spark in the third. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

The listless resignation among Trump’s detractors is not just your imagination, either. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English listles, from list entry 2

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

listless

adjective

list·​less ˈlist-ləs 

: too tired or too little interested to want to do things

listlessly adverb

listlessness noun

Etymology

Middle English listles "having a lack of desire to act or move," from earlier list "desire, liking"