idly

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“
He sat there idly, his every word and look surcharged with passion.

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Definitions (3)

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  1. In an idle manner; lazily; sluggishly; carelessly; vainly; uselessly; unprofitably; foolishly. Thus may ʒe sen my besy whel, That goth not ideliche aboute. Gower, MS. Soc. Antiq. 134, f. 111. (Halliwell.) God would that (void of painfull labour) he Should line in Eden; hut not idlely. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., Eden. But it would hurt you both extremely to have her marry herself idly. Walpole, Letters, II. 468.

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Examples (50)

  • The episode which triggers his trauma is the fact that Israeli soldiers stood by idly, and possibly were complicit, while about three thousand Palestinians were murdered by the Lebanese falangist militants in the refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila. —  open Democracy News Analysis - Comments
  • Mostly people come here to enjoy the lovely calm beach yet if you are bored of simply lying down idly, then you can sure go in for horse riding to add to your excitement and also if your don't like the bumps and jumps associated with it then you can pamper yourself with the lazy yet Royal game of Golf. —  Find Free Articles - ArticlesBase
  • Strawberry Swing is an afternoon delight; ` just chugs along idly, a happy-go-lucky nursery rhyme that chimes like a ` sicle truck amblin ` down the lane in a slowpoke suburb of anywheresville. —  The Student Operated Press
  • He sat there idly, his every word and look surcharged with passion. —  Aladdin ; Co. A Romance of Yankee Magic
  • Utter thou not my name idly, for thou shalt not be guiltless towards me if thou utter my name idly 3. —  Our Legal Heritage, 5th Ed.
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Etymologies (1)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly idlely; from Middle English idelliche, from Anglo-Saxon īdellīce (= Middle High German ītellīche = Danish ideligen; cf. Swedish ideligen), from īdel, idle: see idle and -ly.
 

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