The adjectives kind and gracious both imply a sympathetic attitude toward others, and a willingness to do good or give pleasure. Kind suggests a deep-seated characteristic shown either habitually or on occasion by considerate behavior: a kind father, a kind gesture. Gracious suggests a more formal kindness and generosity that stems from impeccable courtesy, as much as from a good heart (a gracious host, gracious hospitality). In some contexts, gracious refers to kindness from a superior to a subordinate—God save our gracious queen!—and may imply condescension. Another way of looking at it is that gracious suggests kindness that is not necessarily merited, so that being kind itself becomes an act of notable generosity. A gracious loser of an election might be praised for giving a gracious concession speech, congratulating the winner.

To meddle is to involve oneself inappropriately, and often aggressively, in someone else’s business: She'd had about enough of her in-laws meddling in her personal life. If someone interferes in your personal life, they are meddling. However, interfere has several other dictionary definitions which are not synonymous with meddle. These meanings all involve interrupting, delaying, or hindering some action, as when loud music interferes with your studying, or an electrical current interferes with radio reception. Note that with these senses of interfere, a thing can interfere with another thing, whereas meddling almost always implies human agency and intention. Of course, larger entities like governments are also described as meddling—in the affairs of another country, for example.

The adjective lazy is commonly used to describe people who dislike and try to avoid work or other exertion. Used in this way, lazy often suggests a weakness of character. Someone who is lethargic, on the other hand, may do as little or move as slowly as a lazybones, but they are afflicted by a lack of energy, alertness, and interest, which has a cause other than an aversion to work: perhaps illness, overeating, or exhaustion. One might feel lethargic after Thanksgiving dinner; a demoralized team might give an unusually lethargic performance. Lethargic is also commonly used to characterize the actions of more abstract entities or systems, as a lethargic economy or the government’s lethargic response to a crisis. Lethargic in such cases can mean slow to act, grow, or respond to stimuli.