ENGLISH
REFERENCE

lazy

adj.
A2 Elementary Oxford US //ˈɫeɪzi// UK //lˈeɪzi// lazy Archaic Dialect General-service Informal

adj. not wanting to work or use any effort. You use this to describe someone who prefers to do nothing instead of being active.

adj. disinclined to activity or exertion; showing a lack of effort or care. Often used to describe a habitual character trait or a temporary state of inactivity.


SIMPLE

I feel too lazy to cook dinner tonight.

CONTEXTUAL

The manager warned the staff that lazy behavior would not be tolerated during the busy holiday season.

COMPLEX

The film's plot relied on lazy writing and tired clichés rather than developing the complex characters promised in the opening scenes.

Synonyms
Origin

Attested since 1540, origin uncertain. Probably from Low German and Middle Low German lasich (“slack, feeble, lazy”), from las, from Old Saxon lask, 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. An alternative etymology traces lazy to Early Modern English laysy, a derivative of lay (plural lays + -y) in the same way that tipsy is derived from tip. See lay.

Usage

Typically used as an attributive adjective before a noun or a predicative adjective after a linking verb like 'be' or 'feel'.

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