ennui

noun

ˌän-ˈwē How to pronounce ennui (audio)
Definition of ennuinext
as in boredom
the state of being bored the kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one's hands and too little will to find something productive to do

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ennui In the latter book’s view, the internet allows its users to choose their own particular off-ramp from ennui. — Jeremy Gordon, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026 The dilettante witches wind up waking a beast more dreadful than mid-life ennui. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026 More recently, investigations of financial misdeeds have inspired public ennui. — Business Columnist, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2026 And hey, if the superstar was feeling a little low, what better pick-me-up than karaoke with Chrissie Hynde or a heart-to-heart in the ladies’ with ennui expert Lena Dunham? — Ben Jureidini, Vanity Fair, 15 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ennui
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ennui
boredom
Noun
  • Cooke samples an absorbing range of hoaxes, from the college students who convinced the world that an imaginary Scotsman had invented the electric toaster to the Chinese housewife who fabricated an entire war out of boredom.
    — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 21 Oct. 2026
  • And from that boredom, a different kind of will, the willfulness that accompanies a need to destroy that happiness.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of boredom

Browse Nearby Words

ennobling
ennui
enormity
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“Ennui.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ennui. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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