Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not willing to work or be energetic.
  • adjective Slow-moving; sluggish.
  • adjective Conducive to inactivity or indolence.
  • adjective Depicted as reclining or lying on its side. Used of a brand on livestock.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To act lazily; laze; move idly, listlessly, or reluctantly.
  • To waste or spend idly.
  • Disinclined to action or exertion; naturally or habitually slothful; sluggish; indolent; averse to labor.
  • Characterized by or characteristic of idleness or sluggishness; languid; tardy; slow: as, a lazy yawn; lazy movements; a lazy stream.
  • Synonyms Indolent, Inert, etc. (see idle); dilatory, slack.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Disinclined to action or exertion; averse to labor; idle; shirking work.
  • adjective Inactive; slothful; slow; sluggish.
  • adjective Obs. or Prov. Eng. Wicked; vicious.
  • adjective a system of jointed bars capable of great extension, originally made for picking up something at a distance, now variously applied in machinery.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Unwilling to do work or make an effort.
  • adjective Requiring little or no effort.
  • adjective Relaxed or leisurely.
  • adjective optometry Of an eye, squinting because of a weakness of the eye muscles.
  • adjective Turned so that the letter is horizontal instead of vertical.
  • adjective computing theory Employing lazy evaluation; not calculating results until they are immediately required.
  • adjective UK wicked; vicious

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective moving slowly and gently
  • adjective disinclined to work or exertion

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably of Low German origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

1540, origin uncertain, but probably from Middle Low German lasich ("slack, feeble, lazy"), from las, from Proto-Germanic *lasiwaz, *laskaz (“feeble, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *las- (“weak”). Akin to Dutch leuzig "lazy", Old Norse lasinn "limpy, tired, weak", Old English lesu, lysu "false, evil, base". More at lush.

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Examples

  • In repose now, he would not be simply lazy; he would be _being lazy_.

    A Poor Man's House Stephen Sydney Reynolds 1900

  • She turned her head to look at him, staring at the ceiling, his expression lazy and pleased.

    The Glory Game Janet Dailey 1985

  • She turned her head to look at him, staring at the ceiling, his expression lazy and pleased.

    The Glory Game Janet Dailey 1985

  • She turned her head to look at him, staring at the ceiling, his expression lazy and pleased.

    The Glory Game Janet Dailey 1985

  • The term lazy writing doesn't even do what I'm thinking justice because they really showed how much they've hacked this concept to bits.

    unknown title 2008

  • Transneft spokesman Igor Demin, referring to Navalny as a "fascist," says the figure of $4 billion comes from what he calls "lazy" journalism.

    Young Lawyer Leads Fight Against Corruption in Russia 2011

  • Transneft spokesman Igor Demin, referring to Navalny as a "fascist," says the figure of $4 billion comes from what he calls "lazy" journalism.

    Young Lawyer Leads Fight Against Corruption in Russia 2011

  • Transneft spokesman Igor Demin, referring to Navalny as a "fascist," says the figure of $4 billion comes from what he calls "lazy" journalism.

    Young Lawyer Leads Fight Against Corruption in Russia 2011

  • ROBERTS: A top lawmaker is holding a hearing into what he calls lazy enforcement of aircraft inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration.

    CNN Transcript Apr 2, 2008 2008

  • London Mayor Ken Livingstone, saying he refuses to recognize George W. Bush as the lawful president of the United States "In Louisiana, we have a problem with Southern drawl and what I call lazy mouth."

    Perspectives 2007

Comments

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  • Perezoso // WordReference

    October 19, 2007

  • It has a nice sound and even nicer meaning.

    November 16, 2008