LISTLESSNESS Synonyms: 122 Similar and Opposite Words

listlessness

noun

Definition of listlessness

as in boredom

physical or mental inertness following a couple of big mistakes early in the game, the team sank into an uncharacteristic listlessness and was never able to recover the lead

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in restlessness

the state of being bored we searched desperately for something to jar us out of our listlessness

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as in weakness

the quality or state of lacking physical strength or vigor general listlessness is often a side effect of chemotherapy

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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 listlessness The disease in deer is often characterized by progressive weight loss, stumbling, lack of coordination, listlessness, drooping ears, excessive drooling or thirst and a lack of fear of humans. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2026 But while it’s bound to be emotional, this transition doesn’t have to be a time of listlessness and sadness. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 5 Mar. 2026 These signs include loss of appetite, weight loss, lack of energy, listlessness or clinginess and loss of interest in physical play. — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025 And the locker room could feel the listlessness heading into the game. — Charlotte Observer, 10 Nov. 2025 After a year of listlessness, the Democrats experienced their first major electoral string of victories on Tuesday, sweeping the Republicans in every major race. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 7 Nov. 2025 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CWD can take months to years for symptoms to appear, which could include drastic weight loss, stumbling or lack of coordination, drooling and listlessness. — Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 30 Oct. 2025 In early Christian thinking, its connotations of languor and listlessness, within the spirit no less than the body, lent it the status of a sin—a turning aside from God for the sake of earthly sorrow. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025 In the second half, veteran center Garrett Bradbury sensed the Patriots offense stalling from its own listlessness. — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 8 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for listlessness

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

Noun

His Envita medical records from this time detail his lethargy, his cough and his precipitous drop in weight.

— Trisha Thadani Kirsten Potter Tanya Pérez Devin Murphy, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026
Phrasemaking is perhaps no contribution to the intellectual heritage of the race, but phrasemakers do snap us out of lethargy, and frequently out of ingrowing pessimism, which may be worse than frenzy.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of lethargy

Noun

However, the threat posed by bounty hunter Paladin (Todd Stashwick) and the prospect of a reunion with his son conspire to draw him out of his stupor.

— Tom Bailey, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
The Rams’ decision to arrive in Melbourne the day before the game appeared to leave them in a stupor.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of stupor

Noun

Indeed, even after modern jeans were invented in the late 19th century, denim continued to be used to make such apparel as work jackets, prison uniforms, naval fatigues, and jumpsuits.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026
But many live with fatigue, weakness, brain fog and other symptoms for months or years before a deficiency is caught.

— Amanda Schupak, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of fatigue

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listlessly

listlessness

list price

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Style

“Listlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/listlessness. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of listlessness

noun

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