Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Slow and dilatory; prone to wasting time: Describes a person, their manner, or an action that is unhurried to an inefficient or frustrating degree, characterized by procrastination and a lack of urgency.
   • Protracted and inefficient; dragging on: Describes a process, meeting, or activity that proceeds slowly without necessary progress, often due to disorganization or lack of focus.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:
  • Anh ấy có thói quen lề mề. (He has a dawdling habit.)
  • Tác phong lề mề của cô ấy làm chậm cả nhóm. (Her dilatory manner slows down the whole team.)
  • Cuộc họp kết thúc muộn vì quá lề mề. (The meeting ended late because it was so protracted and inefficient.)

Advanced Usage

• Used to criticize a habitual behavior or an inefficient system.
  • Việc giải quyết giấy tờ ở đây rất lề mề. (The paperwork processing here is very slow and bogged down.)

Variants and Related Words

• Lề mề chậm chạp (adj): A reinforcing phrase meaning extremely slow and dawdling.
  • Đừng có lề mề chậm chạp nữa, chúng ta muộn rồi. (Stop dawdling; we are late.)

Synonyms

• Dawdling: Moving slowly and idly.
• Dilatory: Causing delay; slow to act.
• Procrastinating: Delaying or postponing action.
• Sluggish: Slow-moving or inactive.

Related Idioms

• Thói quen lề mề: A habit of dawdling.
  • Cậu bé phải bỏ thói quen lề mề. (The boy must break his dawdling habit.)

1. dwadling ; idle