Definitions

idle

[ahyd-l] / ˈaɪd l /

ADJECTIVE

worthless, ineffective

Synonyms

STRONGEST

empty unproductive useless

STRONG

hollow rambling

WEAK

abortive bootless frivolous fruitless futile groundless insignificant irrelevant not serious nugatory of no avail otiose pointless superficial trivial unavailing unhelpful unnecessary unsuccessful vain

Antonyms

WEAK

active ambitious busy diligent effective employed hustling important productive used working worthwhile

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But the effort to get his orchestra on its feet was not an idle gesture.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

And when my thoughts go idle, they drift to new happy memories that I’ve made all myself: A rainbow over a mountain range after a terrifying hail storm in Texas.

From Salon • Jun. 1, 2026

The physical bottleneck clears only if power, grid, cooling and construction scale fast enough to keep the money being spent from sitting idle in a queue.

From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026

Volkswagen is in talks with Israeli companies to produce components for that country’s Iron Dome artillery defense system by 2027 as a means of using its idle factory capacity.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

If it had been cloudy I could have looked at the window, thinking what he said about idle habits.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

Vocabulary lists containing idle

Some Tricky Homonyms

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The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

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List 8

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