lazy

lazy — adjective

1. describes someone who does not want to put effort into activities that need to b

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes someone who does not want to put effort into activities that need to be done — for example, a student who avoids homework or a worker who does the minimum possible.

Example

Bao's teacher described him as a lazy student who never completed his assignments.

predicative: be + lazy (describing a person)

Imani's lazy approach to the group project frustrated everyone on her team.

attributive: lazy + noun (lazy approach)

Common collocations
  • lazy student
  • lazy worker
  • lazy attitude
  • too lazy to
  • lazy habit
Synonyms
  • idle

    more neutral; often suggests a temporary state rather than a fixed character trait ('The machines sat idle')

  • indolent

    formal; describes someone who avoids effort because they love comfort and ease

  • shiftless

    disapproving; suggests a lack of ambition, initiative, or direction in life

Antonyms
  • hardworking

    shows consistent and serious effort

  • industrious

    formal; habitually working with energy and dedication

  • diligent

    careful and persistent in carrying out tasks

Grammar Patterns

be + lazy

lazy + noun (student, worker, attitude)

too lazy to + infinitive

it is lazy of + noun + to-infinitive

Usage Note

Frequently appears in the construction 'too lazy to + infinitive' (e.g., too lazy to clean). The impersonal pattern 'it is lazy of [someone] to…' carries mild disapproval. Distinguish from sense 2 (SLOW AND RELAXED), which describes a pace or atmosphere, not a person's character.

Common Mistakes

I'm lazy to go out today.
I feel too lazy to go out today.
In English, 'lazy' alone cannot be followed directly by a to-infinitive; you need 'too lazy to' or 'lazy enough to'.
She is a lazy person' (when meaning she is relaxed, unhurried).
She had a lazy morning.
Sense 1 describes a person's character. Sense 2 only describes pace, atmosphere, or movement.

2. describes a period of time, a movement, or a pace that is unhurried and gentle,

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a period of time, a movement, or a pace that is unhurried and gentle, with no sense of pressure — for example, a quiet Sunday afternoon spent reading, or a river that flows slowly through a valley.

Example

We spent a lazy Sunday reading books and drinking tea in the garden.

attributive: lazy + time noun (lazy Sunday)

The stream moved at a lazy pace through the meadow behind Evelyn's house.

attributive: lazy + movement noun (lazy pace)

Common collocations
  • lazy Sunday
  • lazy afternoon
  • lazy morning
  • lazy pace
  • lazy walk
  • lazy river
  • lazy summer
Synonyms
  • leisurely

    positive; suggests a pace that feels pleasant and unhurried by choice

  • unhurried

    neutral; simply means not rushed, without the relaxation connotation

  • languid

    literary; suggests an elegant, dreamy, or gentle slowness

Antonyms
  • brisk

    quick and energetic in pace or movement

  • hurried

    done too quickly, often because of limited time

Grammar Patterns

lazy + time noun (lazy Sunday, lazy afternoon)

lazy + movement noun (lazy walk, lazy pace)

feel + lazy

lazy + river / stream / breeze

Usage Note

Often used with time-related nouns (Sunday, afternoon, morning, summer) to describe unhurried, pleasant periods. Also common with nouns of movement (pace, walk, river, stream). This sense carries no disapproval — it is neutral or positive. Do not use it to describe a person's character; use sense 1 for that.

Common Mistakes

She is a lazy person' (intending relaxed, unhurried character).
She had a lazy morning.
Sense 2 cannot describe a person's character; it only describes activities, movement, or atmosphere.

lazy — verb

Word family

  • lazily
    adverbB2
  • laziness
    nounB2
  • laze
    verbC1
  • lazybones
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a lack of effort, but they differ in connotation and register. Lazy is the most common and general — it simply means someone does not want to use energy. Idle is more neutral and often temporary ('the workers sat idle during the strike'); it can also describe machines or resources not being used. Indolent is formal and suggests a love of comfort and ease rather than outright refusal to work. Shiftless is strongly disapproving and implies a lack of ambition or direction in life — it goes beyond effort to suggest a person has no goals. For everyday speaking and writing, lazy is the natural choice. Use idle when the inactivity is temporary or situational, indolent in formal descriptions of character, and shiftless only when you intend to criticise someone's overall life approach.

lazy ↗idle ↗indolentshiftless

Common collocations

Adverbs

  • lazily

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Lazy comes from Middle English lasy, laysy, which probably developed from an Old English word lesu meaning 'weak' or 'feeble'. The meaning shifted over time: in the 1300s it described someone who was slow or reluctant, and by the 1500s it had taken on the modern sense of 'unwilling to work'. The related verb laze was created in the late 1500s by treating the adjective as a verb root, a process called back-formation.