Meaning & use
far niente
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountableliterary
The pleasant state of doing nothing at all, relaxing without any duties or plans.
Grammar: Uncountable: enjoy far niente, not a far niente.
Patterns
- enjoy far niente
- the joy of far niente
After the exams, she spent a week of pure far niente on the beach.
The hotel sells itself on far niente: no schedule, no phone calls, only sunshine.
He had no talent for far niente and kept checking his email by the pool.
Common combinations
- dolce far niente
- Her weekend was dolce far niente, with books and coffee.
- an afternoon of far niente
- We enjoyed an afternoon of far niente in the garden.
- enjoy far niente
- They went to Italy to enjoy far niente.
- the art of far niente
- Italians are said to know the art of far niente.
Synonyms and how they differ
- idleness
- Idleness is neutral or sometimes critical, while far niente always suggests a delightful kind of laziness.
- leisure
- Leisure means free time in general, but far niente means actively doing nothing.
- relaxation
- Relaxation may include gentle activity, while far niente means no activity at all.
- laziness
- Laziness is usually a criticism, whereas far niente is a pleasure.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: far niente or nirvana?
far niente vs nirvana
Nirvana is a spiritual state of peace, while far niente is simply pleasant laziness.
Practice
Which situation best shows far niente?
Choose one answer.
Far niente is the pleasure of doing nothing, which the hammock shows. The other options all involve effort or obligations.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “far niente”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.