Definition

1. Noun:
   • A feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of interest or excitement; boredom. "Ennui" describes a state of listlessness and mental dissatisfaction caused by tediousness or a lack of engaging activity.

Usage

• Ennui is a formal or literary term for a profound sense of boredom and dissatisfaction. It often implies a deep-seated, chronic condition rather than a temporary feeling.
• It is typically used as a non-count (uncountable) noun.

Examples

• The endless meetings filled him with a deep sense of ennui.
• She tried to escape the ennui of her small-town life by reading novels.
• A pervasive ennui settled over the office during the slow season.

Advanced Usage

• "To suffer from ennui": to experience a prolonged state of boredom and listlessness.
  • The wealthy aristocrat seemed to suffer from a perpetual ennui, finding no pleasure in his luxurious surroundings.
• "The ennui of modern life": a phrase used to critique the repetitive, unchallenging, or meaningless aspects of contemporary existence.
  • The novel explores the ennui of modern life in a sprawling metropolis.

Variants and Related Words

• Ennuyé (adj): A rarely used adjective, borrowed directly from French, meaning "bored" or "affected by ennui."
  • He had an ennuyé expression throughout the entire lecture.

Synonyms

• Boredom: The state of feeling bored. (More common and less formal than "ennui.")
• Tedium: The quality or state of being tedious; monotony.
• Listlessness: Lack of interest, energy, or spirit.
• Languor: A state of tiredness or inertia, often with a pleasant or dreamy quality, but can overlap with ennui.
• Weltschmerz: (German loanword) A feeling of melancholy and world-weariness. (Broader and more philosophical than "ennui.")

Antonyms

• Excitement: A feeling of great enthusiasm and eagerness.
• Interest: The feeling of wanting to know or learn about something.
• Engagement: The state of being involved and interested.

Notes

• Ennui is a loanword from French, retaining its original spelling and a sense of sophistication or intellectual weariness.
• It often carries a connotation of jadedness or existential boredom, sometimes associated with privilege or a surfeit of leisure.

Noun

1. the feeling of being bored by something tedious