: characterized by lack of interest, energy, or spirit
a listless melancholy attitude
listlessly
adverb
listlessness
noun
Synonyms
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.
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
See all Example Sentences for listless 
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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
See all Example Sentences for listless
Dictionary Entries Near listless
Cite this Entry
“Listless.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/listless. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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"
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