lazy

Meanings

1. 1adjectivecomparabledisapproving

   Not willing to work or make an effort, and happier to rest.

   Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a lazy student, he is lazy.

   Patterns

   • lazy about something
   • too lazy to do something

   He was too lazy to wash the dishes.

   Don't be lazy and finish your homework.

   The lazy cat slept in the sun.

2. 2adjectivebefore a nounapproving

   Slow, relaxed and without hurry, in a pleasant way.

   Grammar: Comes before a noun: a lazy afternoon.

   Patterns

   • lazy day
   • lazy Sunday
   • lazy river

   We spent a lazy Sunday reading in the garden.

   A lazy river carried the tubes along.

   She gave a lazy smile and stretched.

3. 3adjectivebefore a noundisapproving

   Done carelessly or with too little thought.

   Grammar: Describes work or thinking: lazy writing.

   Patterns

   • lazy thinking
   • lazy writing

   Using the same joke again was lazy writing.

   That is a lazy answer to a hard question.

   The report relied on lazy assumptions.

Word forms

Common combinations

lazy afternoon

We enjoyed a lazy afternoon by the pool.

too lazy to

I was too lazy to walk to the store.

lazy student

The teacher doubted the lazy student would improve.

lazy eye

The child wears a patch for her lazy eye.

lazy journalism

Copying press releases is lazy journalism.

Synonyms and how they differ

idle

Idle can mean simply not working, without blame, whereas lazy criticizes an unwillingness to work.

slothful

Slothful is formal and old-fashioned and suggests deep habitual laziness.

indolent

Indolent is a formal word for someone who dislikes exertion, often in a languid way.

sluggish

Sluggish describes slow movement or response, perhaps from tiredness, not a character flaw.

Opposites

Word family

laziness noun

unwillingness to work

lazily adverb

in a slow, unhurried way

lazybones noun

an informal name for a lazy person

laze verb

to relax and do nothing

Commonly confused: lazy or lax?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “lazy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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