idly
adverb · noun
Simple meaning
Without specific purpose, intent or effort.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ahydleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaɪdli
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adverb
In an idle manner. [from 14th c.]
“This is what I always imagined myself doing in the south of France, sitting idly, drinking coffee, watching the people.”
Without specific purpose, intent or effort. [from 9th c.]
noun
A South Asian cake made from rice and lentils, whose ground mixture is fermented and steamed in a mold.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In an idle manner. [from 14th c.]
Used this way, idly is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It criticises, but without shouting.
“This is what I always imagined myself doing in the south of France, sitting idly, drinking coffee, watching the people.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Gentle
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Critical but measured
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use idly
- “This is what I always imagined myself doing in the south of France, sitting idly, drinking coffee, watching the people.”adverb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.