as in listless
lacking bodily energy or motivation
he was spiritless and depressed for weeks after being fired
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Recent Examples of spiritless
Dance sections lacked charm; lyric passages were spiritless; the klezmer episodes in the third movement were strictly goyish.
—
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Yet the club dropped the contest in spiritless fashion, 6-2.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Lil Wayne is not tolerating spiritless crowds at his shows.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 15 May 2023
The studio setup looks familiar, but the operation itself is spiritless, bearing more resemblance to CNBC’s coverage of the stock market than to the typical sports show, whose belligerent repartee is familiar to anyone who has ever watched a game with friends.
—New York Times, 27 Apr. 2022
That hotel, which opened about a year ago, serves a drink called a Bee’s Knees with a Twist, which costs $19 and includes spiritless gin, lime and honey (cocktails with alcohol range from $21 to $28).
—Alyson Krueger, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2023
Hampered by a spare and spiritless screenplay, Smith gives a performance marked by facial expressions, physical movement and a Haitian accent that struggles to shake its studied quality.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2022
This coming holiday season, many glasses raised in Hollywood may be filled with spiritless spirits.
—Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Nov. 2022
Fall menu items include libations like the Hummingbird with tennyson black ginger and the Devil Mountain with a spiritless Kentucky 74.
—Amelia Arvesen, Outside Online, 26 Oct. 2022
Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Yet the club dropped the contest in spiritless fashion, 6-2.
—Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 12 Aug. 2023
Lil Wayne is not tolerating spiritless crowds at his shows.
—Daniela Avila, Peoplemag, 15 May 2023
The studio setup looks familiar, but the operation itself is spiritless, bearing more resemblance to CNBC’s coverage of the stock market than to the typical sports show, whose belligerent repartee is familiar to anyone who has ever watched a game with friends.
—New York Times, 27 Apr. 2022
That hotel, which opened about a year ago, serves a drink called a Bee’s Knees with a Twist, which costs $19 and includes spiritless gin, lime and honey (cocktails with alcohol range from $21 to $28).
—Alyson Krueger, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2023
Hampered by a spare and spiritless screenplay, Smith gives a performance marked by facial expressions, physical movement and a Haitian accent that struggles to shake its studied quality.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2022
This coming holiday season, many glasses raised in Hollywood may be filled with spiritless spirits.
—Ingrid Schmidt, The Hollywood Reporter, 12 Nov. 2022
Fall menu items include libations like the Hummingbird with tennyson black ginger and the Devil Mountain with a spiritless Kentucky 74.
—Amelia Arvesen, Outside Online, 26 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spiritless
Adjective
-
Newcastle United were listless during their 3-1 defeat at Fulham on September 21 — and nobody appeared more out of sorts than Alexander Isak.—
Chris Waugh,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
-
On disk, the Bostonians play with maximum effervescence, but in the Adagio of the Concerto in G Cho’s attempt at otherworldly lyricism turns listless.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Absorb punches until Trump tires himself out or, more likely, the American people get tired of all the chaos and disruption.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
20 Mar. 2025
-
Selections from the trio’s synth-heavy mid-Eighties years sound sturdier than ever within the grand sweep of Rush 50, defying the tired rock-purist take that the trio strayed too far during this period.—
Hank Shteamer,
Rolling Stone,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
As the netminder made his lackadaisical way back into into his crease, Kastelic fired it toward the net.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
8 Mar. 2025
-
Moore really sells the arc from her disappointment in Kaffee’s lackadaisical approach to the case at the film’s start to nearly fangirling over his prowess as a lawyer by the end. 7.—
Eddie Mouradian,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The problem with doing it all the time is that exhausted people do not always make the best decisions.—
David A. Teich,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
-
And when those meet-ups do happen, fans are left feeling like an exhausted mother confronted with a mess in the kitchen: Not mad, but disappointed.—
Charlotte Walsh,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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As the market sell-off gains steam, a handful of quality stocks could outperform and buck the broader weak trend for equities, according to Bernstein.—
Brian Evans,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2025
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Similarly, 5GHz signals were strong in the central areas but became weaker in the garage, the den, and the kitchen area.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
When the males clasped the female bodies, the female appeared to go limp and the color drained from their bodies, according to the study.—
Irene Wright,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2025
-
Paul Clement, Ho’s answer to a legal problem in which the prosecution against Adams went limp in its offensive, took the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss charges to the next level in his recommendation.—
Ross O'Keefe,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
This more logistical plot thread proves surprisingly languid for a such a nanoscopic feature, but Kang plays with its withdrawn qualities in fascinating ways.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Martin, ever elegant but rarely a wildly expressive actor, could perhaps do with showing a bit more emotional urgency here to sharpen the interplay with Tom, especially in this naturally languid seaside backdrop.—
Nicolas Rapold,
Deadline,
16 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Such languorous scenes led one of my friends, a seasoned war reporter, to remark that the film was short on action, and its pace is undeniably slower than the typical war documentary.—
Simon Shuster,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
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Steeped in the pleasantly lazy atmosphere of the title setting, the film is languorous, but not long.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
25 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spiritless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spiritless. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.
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