Meaning & use
idly
In a lazy, inactive way, without any particular purpose or effort.
See it in a sentence
He sat idly on the porch, watching cars pass without a thought in his head.
She idly flipped through the magazine while waiting for her name to be called.
A note on using this word
'Idley' is a common misspelling; drop the extra 'e' so that 'idle' plus '-ly' becomes idly.
Words with a similar meaning
lazilyaimlessly
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
activelybusily
Make it your own
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