idly

/'aildli/

Thân thiện

She sat idly on the park bench, watching the ducks swim by.

Definition

1. Adverb:
   • In an idle manner; without purpose or activity: Doing nothing in particular, being inactive, or not being used for work or serious effort.
   • Without effect or result; pointlessly: In a way that serves no useful purpose or achieves nothing.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • She sat idly by the window, watching the rain fall.
  • The machine stood idly in the corner, gathering dust.
  • He wondered idly what time it was.

Advanced Usage

• "to sit/stand idly by": To remain inactive or do nothing when action is needed, often implying neglect.
  • We cannot sit idly by while injustice occurs.
• "to talk/idly speculate": To talk or think about something in a casual, unfocused, or non-serious way.
  • They idly speculated about who might get the promotion.

Variants and Related Words

• Idle (adjective): Not active or in use; without purpose; lazy.
  • The factory has been idle for months.
• Idleness (noun): The state of being idle; inactivity.
  • He complained about the idleness of his summer vacation.

Synonyms

• Inactively: Without taking action.
• Lazily: In a way that shows a lack of effort or energy.
• Aimlessly: Without purpose or direction.
• Pointlessly: With no useful aim or purpose.

Related Phrases

• Pass the time idly: To spend time doing unimportant or trivial things.
  • He passed the time idly by flipping through magazines.
• An idle thought: A casual or passing thought with no serious intent.
  • It was just an idle thought, not a real plan.

Học thuật

Adverb

1. in an idle manner
   • this is what I always imagined myself doing in the south of France, sitting idly, drinking coffee, watching the people

Từ đồng nghĩa

• lazily