Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

indolence

/ˈɪndl̩əns/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.08 in modern English

Syllables
in-dol-ence
IPA
/ˈɪndl̩əns/
12
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Habitual laziness or sloth.

Uncountable

noun

Lack of pain in a tumour.

Uncountable

noun

A state in which one feels no pain or is indifferent to it; a lack of any feeling.

Obsolete; Uncountable

noun

A state of repose in which neither pain nor pleasure is experienced.

Obsolete; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French indolence, or from its etymon Latin indolentia (“freedom from pain; insensibility”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + dolēns (“hurting, suffering; grieving, lamenting”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Dolēns is the present participle of doleō (“to hurt, suffer; to be sorry, deplore, grieve for, lament”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *delh₁-, indolence, indolentia

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɪndl̩əns/
  • British English: /ˈɪndəl(ə)ns/

Usage

Inflected Forms

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Antonyms

Questions

How do you pronounce indolence?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɪndl̩əns/.
What does indolence mean?
Habitual laziness or sloth.
Where does indolence come from?
It is traced to Middle French.

How to pronounce indolence

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “indolence”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɪndl̩əns/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “indolence”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “indolence” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.