LAZY Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'lazy' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and slothful are common synonyms of lazy . While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble. // take-out foods for lazy cooks

Q: When is it sensible to use 'indolent' instead of 'lazy'?

Although the words indolent and lazy have much in common, indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity. // the heat made us indolent

Q: When might 'slothful' be a better fit than 'lazy'?

While in some cases nearly identical to lazy , slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for. // fired for being slothful about filling orders

lazy 1 of 2

adjective

ˈlā-zē

Definition of lazy

as in idle

not easily aroused to action or work the lazy dog just wanted to lie on the couch all day and sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in careless

failing to give proper care and attention that cookbook author can be lazy about giving cooking times and temperatures

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

lazy

2 of 2

verb

as in to bum

to spend time doing nothing a good afternoon to spend lazying on the back porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word lazy distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and slothful are common synonyms of lazy. While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble.

take-out foods for lazy cooks

When is it sensible to use indolent instead of lazy?

Although the words indolent and lazy have much in common, indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity.

the heat made us indolent

When might slothful be a better fit than lazy?

While in some cases nearly identical to lazy, slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for.

fired for being slothful about filling orders

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 lazy

Adjective

If there are no bubbles or just very few small lazy bubbles, that means your oil is not hot enough. — Emily Elias, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Oct. 2026 In late June, Taylor Moton was in the middle of a lazy summer day in Charlotte. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026 Composed of 160 photographs taken across the past seven decades by 118 photographers, the show suggests the jobs, romances, family life, and lazy afternoons that could have been his. — The Week Us, TheWeek, 13 Oct. 2026 However, GitHub’s measures don’t require users to revoke any credentials left exposed in a repo, and some developers continue hard-coding, even though it’s considered both lazy development and exceptionally poor security. — Alex Colon, PC Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lazy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lazy

Adjective

Among the biggest changes in the country have to do with changes to corporate governance, including the encouragement of companies to eliminate idle cash and focus more on shareholder returns, that's meant to support growth.

— Sarah Min, CNBC, 27 Oct. 2026
Supply-chain congestion sometimes causes freight trains to sit idle, leaving them vulnerable to thieves in urban rail yards.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of idle

Adjective

Josh Hoover may have been a bit careless, but every game TCU has played this season is another painful example how badly both his old school, and coach, miss him.

— Mac Engel October 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
According to police, the driver was cited for careless driving.

— Ryan Hughes, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of careless

Verb

The joy Lisa has with her RHUGT cast compared with the dread her RHOSLC cast seems to bring her really bums me out — especially because of how much of this trip is championing the sisterhood of Housewives.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
My conversation partner returned, somehow unable to bum even a single cigarette from anyone at this party.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 July 2026

Definition of bum

Adjective

Meanwhile, angry residents continue to flood once-sleepy municipal board meetings, pressuring officials to reject data center proposals.

— Marc Levy, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
What was once a boring, sleepy issue where the PUC made decisions more or less in a vacuum is no longer the case.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of sleepy

Adjective

With nowhere to put her maternal love after the loss of her son Jason, Pam Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) soon takes an interest in Grace, whose own mom appears to be abusive and neglectful.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Still, Duncan on Friday argued that the move is a mistake that empowers neglectful landlords and fails tenants.

— Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of neglectful

Verb

The colony also has a population of New Zealand fur seals that laze around the rocks frequented by flocks of seabirds.

— Todd Symons, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
The pigs that would soon enough become lunch lazed in the compost-pile mud in front of a five-star-hotel-worthy view of the Cretan Sea.

— Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026

Definition of laze

Adjective

Screenings in healthy adults are also more likely to catch indolent disease, meaning slow-growing or static conditions, than aggressive ones.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026
Possibly a deepening and widening of populist politics, as both the far right and the far left win over more of the allegedly indolent youth.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of indolent

Browse Nearby Words

lazing

lazy

lazybones

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Style

“Lazy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lazy. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lazy

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verb

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Synonyms of lazy

adjective

verb

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Words for Laziness, and for Lazy People

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