indolent

English

WOTD – 18 December 2008

Etymology

From French indolent or directly from Late Latin indolēns, from in- (“not”) +‎ dolēns (“hurting”), from doleo (“to hurt”). The later sense of “living easily, slothful” perhaps developed in French.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈɪn.də.lənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

indolent (comparative more indolent, superlative most indolent)

1. Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistant to physical labor.

   The indolent girl resisted doing her homework.

   • 1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume II, chapter 18:

     Mr. Churchill has pride; but his pride is nothing to his wife’s: his is a quiet, indolent, gentlemanlike sort of pride that would harm nobody, and only make himself a little helpless and tiresome; but her pride is arrogance and insolence!

   • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 466:

     […] the obscurities of his text are not due so much to inherent philosophical difficulties as to Lenin's indolent and superficial approach and his contempt for all problems that could not be put to direct use in the struggle for power.

2. Inducing laziness.

   indolent comfort

3. (medicine) Causing little or no physical pain; progressing slowly; inactive (of an ulcer, etc.).
4. (medicine) Healing slowly.

Synonyms

• idle, work-shy; see also Thesaurus:lazy

Derived terms

• indolent lesion of epithelial origin
• indolently

Related terms

• indolence
• indolency

Translations

habitually lazy

• Arabic: كَسُول m (kasūl), كَسْلَان m (kaslān), كَسِل m (kasil)
• Bulgarian: ленив (bg) (leniv), мързелив (bg) (mărzeliv)
• Catalan: indolent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: lhostejný (cs) m, líný (cs) m, indolentní (cs) m, lenivý (cs), zahálčivý
• Dutch: werkschuw (nl)
• Finnish: saamaton (fi), veltto (fi)
• French: indolent (fr)
• German: träge (de), faul (de), arbeitsscheu (de)
• Hungarian: lusta (hu)
• Irish: sácráilte
• Latin: piger
• Norwegian: arbeidsky
• Plautdietsch: ful
• Polish: leniwy (pl)
• Portuguese: indolente (pt), vadio (pt)
• Russian: лени́вый (ru) (lenívyj), пра́здный (ru) (prázdnyj), безде́ятельный (ru) (bezdéjatelʹnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: leisg
• Spanish: indolente (es)
• Tocharian B: ālase
• Turkish: uyuz (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: تنبل (tembel), هایلاز (haylaz)

inducing laziness

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: veltostuttava (fi)
• German: ermüdend (de)
• Portuguese: indolente (pt)
• Russian: спосо́бствующий пра́здности (sposóbstvujuščij prázdnosti), разне́живающий (ru) (raznéživajuščij)

medicine: causing little or no physical pain

• Bulgarian: безболезнен (bg) (bezboleznen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: nebolestivý m
• Finnish: indolentti, kivuton (fi)
• French: indolent (fr)
• German: schmerzlos, indolent (de), schmerzfrei (de)
• Irish: leasc
• Polish: bezbolesny (pl)
• Russian: безболе́зненный (ru) (bezboléznennyj)
• Spanish: indolente (es)

medicine: healing slowly

• Bulgarian: бавно заздравяващ (bavno zazdravjavašt)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: itsepintainen (fi)
• Irish: leasc
• Russian: ме́дленно зажива́ющий (médlenno zaživájuščij), вялотеку́щий (ru) (vjalotekúščij)
• Spanish: indolente (es)

Anagrams

• deltonin, nontiled

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French indolent, from Latin indolens, from in- (“not”) +‎ dolēns (“hurting”), from doleo (“to hurt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [endoˈlɛnˀd]

Adjective

indolent (plural and definite singular attributive indolente)

1. indolent, indifferent, dull

Inflection

Inflection of indolent

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite common singular	indolent	mere indolent	mest indolent2
indefinite neuter singular	indolent	mere indolent	mest indolent2
plural	indolente	mere indolent	mest indolent2
definite attributive1	indolente	mere indolent	mest indolente

¹ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
² The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Synonyms

• sløv, ligeglad.

Related terms

• indolens

References

• “indolent” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Latin indolentem, accusative singular masculine and feminine of indolēns, from in- (“not”) + dolēns (“pain”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.dɔ.lɑ̃/
• Homophone: indolents

Adjective

indolent (feminine indolente, masculine plural indolents, feminine plural indolentes)

1. indolent (all senses)

Further reading

• “indolent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin indolens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪndoˈlɛnt/, /ˈɪndolɛnt/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧do‧lent

Adjective

indolent (strong nominative masculine singular indolenter, comparative indolenter, superlative am indolentesten)

1. indolent (mentally lazy)

   Synonyms: geistig träge, (pejorative) denkfaul

2. (medicine) insensible to pain

   Synonyms: schmerzunempfindlich, schmerzlos

3. (medicine) painless

   Synonyms: schmerzfrei, schmerzlos

Declension

Positive forms of indolent number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist indolent sie ist indolent es ist indolent sie sind indolent strong declension (without article) nominative indolenter indolente indolentes indolente genitive indolenten indolenter indolenten indolenter dative indolentem indolenter indolentem indolenten accusative indolenten indolente indolentes indolente weak declension (with definite article) nominative der indolente die indolente das indolente die indolenten genitive des indolenten der indolenten des indolenten der indolenten dative dem indolenten der indolenten dem indolenten den indolenten accusative den indolenten die indolente das indolente die indolenten mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein indolenter eine indolente ein indolentes (keine) indolenten genitive eines indolenten einer indolenten eines indolenten (keiner) indolenten dative einem indolenten einer indolenten einem indolenten (keinen) indolenten accusative einen indolenten eine indolente ein indolentes (keine) indolenten Comparative forms of indolent number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist indolenter sie ist indolenter es ist indolenter sie sind indolenter strong declension (without article) nominative indolenterer indolentere indolenteres indolentere genitive indolenteren indolenterer indolenteren indolenterer dative indolenterem indolenterer indolenterem indolenteren accusative indolenteren indolentere indolenteres indolentere weak declension (with definite article) nominative der indolentere die indolentere das indolentere die indolenteren genitive des indolenteren der indolenteren des indolenteren der indolenteren dative dem indolenteren der indolenteren dem indolenteren den indolenteren accusative den indolenteren die indolentere das indolentere die indolenteren mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein indolenterer eine indolentere ein indolenteres (keine) indolenteren genitive eines indolenteren einer indolenteren eines indolenteren (keiner) indolenteren dative einem indolenteren einer indolenteren einem indolenteren (keinen) indolenteren accusative einen indolenteren eine indolentere ein indolenteres (keine) indolenteren Superlative forms of indolent number & gender singular plural masculine feminine neuter predicative er ist am indolentesten sie ist am indolentesten es ist am indolentesten sie sind am indolentesten strong declension (without article) nominative indolentester indolenteste indolentestes indolenteste genitive indolentesten indolentester indolentesten indolentester dative indolentestem indolentester indolentestem indolentesten accusative indolentesten indolenteste indolentestes indolenteste weak declension (with definite article) nominative der indolenteste die indolenteste das indolenteste die indolentesten genitive des indolentesten der indolentesten des indolentesten der indolentesten dative dem indolentesten der indolentesten dem indolentesten den indolentesten accusative den indolentesten die indolenteste das indolenteste die indolentesten mixed declension (with indefinite article) nominative ein indolentester eine indolenteste ein indolentestes (keine) indolentesten genitive eines indolentesten einer indolentesten eines indolentesten (keiner) indolentesten dative einem indolentesten einer indolentesten einem indolentesten (keinen) indolentesten accusative einen indolentesten eine indolenteste ein indolentestes (keine) indolentesten

Related terms

• Indolenz
• indifferent
• inkompetent

Further reading

• “indolent”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[1] (in German)
• “indolent” in Duden online

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French indolent, from Latin indolens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /in.doˈlent/

Adjective

indolent m or n (feminine singular indolentă, masculine plural indolenți, feminine/neuter plural indolente)

1. indolent

Declension

Declension of indolent

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	indolent		indolentă	indolenți	indolente
	definite	indolentul		indolenta	indolenții	indolentele
genitive- dative	indefinite	indolent		indolente	indolenți	indolente
	definite	indolentului		indolentei	indolenților	indolentelor