lazy

Meaning

Adj

1. Unwilling to do work or make an effort; disinclined to exertion.
2. Causing or characterised by idleness; relaxed or leisurely.
3. Showing a lack of effort or care.
4. Sluggish; slow-moving.
5. Lax:
6. Lax:
7. Turned so that (the letter) is horizontal instead of vertical.
8. Employing lazy evaluation; not calculating results until they are immediately required.
9. (UK, dialectal, obsolete) Wicked; vicious.

Verb

To laze, act in a lazy manner.

Noun

1. A lazy person.
2. (obsolete) Sloth (animal).

Synonyms

idle

indolent

slothful

sluggish

slow

inactive

weak

languid

slack

lethargic

careless

otiose

work-shy

shiftless

dull

listless

tired

😫

be lazy

useless

sluggard

idler

lounge about

good-for-nothing

loaf

inert

faineant

be idle

lazy person

be tired

vagabond

do-nothing

slacker

rotten

reluctant

tardy

loafer

negligent

fatigued

indifferent

passive

exertion

evil-minded

demoralized

even-tempered

equanimous

cruel

effeminate

easy-going

corrupt

incompetent

Translations

paresseux

faul

perezoso

pigro

lui

träge

ozioso

fainéant

preguiçoso

tembel

haragán

τεμπέλης

flojo

ocioso

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈleɪzi/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: leuzig

Cognate with Old Norse: lasinn

Cognate with Old English: lesu

In summary

Attested since 1540, origin uncertain. Probably from Low German and Middle Low German lasich (“slack, feeble, lazy”), from las, from Old Saxon lask, from Proto-Germanic *lasiwaz, *laskaz (“feeble, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *las- (“weak”).
Akin to Dutch leuzig (“lazy”), Old Norse lasinn (“limpy, tired, weak”), Old English lesu, lysu (“false, evil, base”). More at lush.
An alternative etymology traces lazy to Early Modern English laysy, a derivative of lay (plural lays + -y) in the same way that tipsy is derived from tip. See lay.