Ī'dle1, a.
(ī'dl), a. [compar. IDLER; superl. IDLEST.] [A-S. îdel, ydel, vain, empty, idle, O. Sax. îdal, îdil, O. H. Ger. îtal, M. H. Ger. îtel, N. H. Ger. eitel, D. ijdel, ydel, Dan. & Sw. idel, vain, frivolous, mere, pure.]
Sense 1. Of no account; useless; vain; trifling; unprofitable; barren. “Idle deserts.” 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 custom is at least idle, and may be prejudicial. W. Scott.
Sense 2. Not called into active service; not turned to appropriate use; unemployed; as, idle hours.
The idle spear and shield were high up hung. Milton.
Sense 3. Not employed; unoccupied with business; inactive; doing nothing.
Why stand ye here all the day idle? Matt. xx. 6.
Sense 4. Given to rest and ease; averse to labor or employment; lazy; as, an idle man; an idle fellow.
Sense 5. Light-headed; foolish. [Obs. and rare.] Ford.
Synonyms—Unoccupied; unemployed; vacant; inactive; indolent; sluggish; slothful; useless; ineffectual; futile; frivolous; vain; trifling; unprofitable; unimportant.—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 of ease, a settled dislike of movement or effort; idle is opposed to busy, and denotes a dislike of continuous exertion. An idle person may be active in his way, but is reluctant to force himself to what he does not like. Lazy is only a stronger and more contemptuous term for indolent. “An indolent man fails in activity from a defect either of mind or body; and trifling exertions of any kind are sufficient, even in prospect, to deter him from attempting to move. Laziness is opposed to industry, and is frequent among those who are compelled to work for others; it is a habit of body superinduced upon one's condition.” Crabb.