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idlest

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idlest

 

  1  definition  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Idle  \I"dle\,  a.  [Compar.  {Idler};  superl.  {Idlest}.]  [OE.  idel, 
  AS  [=i]del  vain,  empty,  useless;  akin  to  OS  [=i]dal,  D. 
  ijdel  OHG.  [=i]tal  vain,  empty,  mere,  G.  eitel,  Dan.  &  Sw 
  idel  mere,  pure,  and  prob.  to  Gr  ?  clear,  pure,  ?  to  burn. 
  Cf  {Ether}.] 
  1.  Of  no  account;  useless;  vain;  trifling;  unprofitable; 
  thoughtless;  silly;  barren.  ``Deserts  idle.''  --Shak. 
 
  Every  idle  word  that  men  shall  speak,  they  shall 
  give  account  thereof  in  the  day  of  judgment.  --Matt. 
  xii.  36. 
 
  Down  their  idle  weapons  dropped.  --Milton. 
 
  This  idle  story  became  important.  --Macaulay. 
 
  2.  Not  called  into  active  service;  not  turned  to  appropriate 
  use  unemployed;  as  idle  hours. 
 
  The  idle  spear  and  shield  were  high  uphing. 
  --Milton. 
 
  3.  Not  employed;  unoccupied  with  business;  inactive;  doing 
  nothing;  as  idle  workmen. 
 
  Why  stand  ye  here  all  the  day  idle?  --Matt.  xx  6. 
 
  4.  Given  rest  and  ease;  averse  to  labor  or  employment;  lazy; 
  slothful;  as  an  idle  fellow. 
 
  5.  Light-headed;  foolish.  [Obs.]  --Ford. 
 
  {Idle  pulley}  (Mach.),  a  pulley  that  rests  upon  a  belt  to 
  tighten  it  a  pulley  that  only  guides  a  belt  and  is  not 
  used  to  transmit  power. 
 
  {Idle  wheel}  (Mach.),  a  gear  wheel  placed  between  two  others 
  to  transfer  motion  from  one  to  the  other  without  changing 
  the  direction  of  revolution. 
 
  {In  idle},  in  vain.  [Obs.]  ``God  saith,  thou  shalt  not  take 
  the  name  of  thy  Lord  God  in  idle.''  --Chaucer. 
 
  Syn:  Unoccupied;  unemployed;  vacant;  inactive;  indolent; 
  sluggish;  slothful;  useless;  ineffectual;  futile; 
  frivolous;  vain;  trifling;  unprofitable;  unimportant. 
 
  Usage:  {Idle},  {Indolent},  {Lazy}.  A  propensity  to  inaction 
  is  expressed  by  each  of  these  words  they  differ  in 
  the  cause  and  degree  of  this  characteristic.  Indolent 
  denotes  an  habitual  love  to  ease,  a  settled  dislike  of 
  movement  or  effort;  idle  is  opposed  to  {busy},  and 
  denotes  a  dislike  of  continuous  exertion.  Lazy  is  a 
  stronger  and  more  contemptuous  term  than  indolent.




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