accidie
n. uncountablen. a feeling of deep sadness, boredom, or lack of interest in life. It is an old word that people used to describe a spiritual or mental state of being stuck.
n. a state of spiritual or mental depression, characterized by a lack of interest in life or a sense of being stuck. Often associated with medieval religious contexts as a form of spiritual sloth or melancholy.
The monk struggled with accidie during the long winter months.
In medieval literature, accidie was often depicted as a heavy, invisible weight that prevented the soul from seeking divine grace.
The poet's later works are marked by a pervasive sense of accidie, reflecting a deep disillusionment with the very ideals that had once driven his creative output.
From Middle English accidie, from Anglo-Norman accidie, Old French accide, accidie, from Late Latin accīdia, alteration of acēdia (“sloth, torpor”), from Ancient Greek ἀκήδεια (akḗdeia, “indifference”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + κῆδος (kêdos, “care”). Doublet of acedia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated June 22, 2026