ennui feeling

Meanings

1. 1phrasecountableliterary

   A dull, tired sense that nothing interests or excites you anymore, often when life feels empty or repetitive.

   Grammar: Usually used as 'a feeling of ennui' or, less commonly, 'an ennui feeling'; it describes one emotional state.

   Patterns

   • a feeling of ennui
   • an ennui feeling
   • be overcome by ennui

   After months of the same routine, he described a deep ennui feeling that no hobby could shake.

   Her diary records a quiet ennui feeling that settled over her during the long, gray winter.

   The novel's hero drifts through parties with an ennui feeling he cannot explain to anyone.

2. 2noununcountableliteraryformal

   A state of listless boredom, especially the weary dissatisfaction of someone who has lost interest in pleasure.

   Grammar: 'Ennui' alone is uncountable: say 'a sense of ennui', not 'an ennui' or 'ennuis'.

   Patterns

   • a sense of ennui
   • sink into ennui
   • out of sheer ennui

   The critics said the film captured the ennui of a wealthy family with nothing left to want.

   He took a job abroad out of sheer ennui, tired of knowing exactly how each day would go.

   A mood of ennui hung over the office in the slow weeks after the project ended.

Common combinations

a feeling of ennui

She spoke of a feeling of ennui that came with working from home every day.

a sense of ennui

There was a sense of ennui in the room as the meeting dragged on.

deep ennui

His letters reveal a deep ennui he hid from his friends.

sink into ennui

Without goals, he sank into ennui for most of that year.

sheer ennui

They drove to the coast out of sheer ennui.

Synonyms and how they differ

boredom

The everyday word; use it in normal conversation, and keep 'ennui' for writing that wants a literary or weary tone.

listlessness

Focuses on having no energy or drive, while 'ennui' stresses a jaded lack of interest rather than tiredness.

weariness

Suggests being tired of something after too much of it; 'ennui' is broader and often implies a vague emptiness.

melancholy

A sad, thoughtful mood, not mainly boredom, so it fits when the feeling is sorrowful rather than dull.

Opposites

Word family

ennuyé adjective

Borrowed from French, meaning bored or wearied; rare in English and usually written with the accent.

Commonly confused: ennui feeling or ennui / annoy?

Practice

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