Sloth: A Dictionary for the Lazy Read online

  roly-poly

  (ROH-lee-POH-lee)

  ADJECTIVE: Plump and round.

  roost

  (roost)

  VERB: To settle in and rest.

  rotund

  (roh-TUHND)

  ADJECTIVE: Round; fat.

  rump

  (ruhmp)

  NOUN: Buttocks; backside.

  rundown

  (ruhn-DOUN)

  ADJECTIVE: Exhausted or fatigued.

  rusty

  (RUHS-tee)

  ADJECTIVE: Out of practice; literally, it also describes something that is covered in rust due to neglect or infrequent use.

  The avenues in my neighborhood are Pride, Covetous and Lust; the cross streets are Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. I live over on Sloth, and the style on our street is to avoid the other thoroughfares.

  —JOHN CHANCELLOR

  S

  sag

  (sag)

  VERB: Droop or wilt; weaken.

  sandman

  (SAND-man)

  NOUN: The mythical man who puts sand in your eyes to make you sleepy.

  saunter

  (SAWN-ter)

  VERB: To walk along in an unhurried, leisurely manner; meander.

  He would SAUNTER through the parties, casually greeting guests without exerting too much energy.

  scalawag

  (SKAL-uh-wag)

  NOUN: A dishonest or misbehaved person; rascal.

  schlep

  (shlep)

  VERB: To move slowly from one place to the next; to carry something.

  scrounger

  (skrounj-er)

  NOUN: One who freeloads or sponges off of others.

  sedative

  (SED-uh-tiv)

  ADJECTIVE: Having a calming effect, especially in relation to a drug.

  sedentary

  (SED-n-ter-ee)

  ADJECTIVE: Related to the act of sitting; involving little exercise.

  When Edward stopped doing manual labor and took a more SEDENTARY job, he began slowly gaining weight.

  semiconscious

  (sem-ee-KON-shuhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Existing somewhere between unconsciousness and full consciousness.

  senseless

  (SENS-lis)

  ADJECTIVE: Without sensation; lacking perception; meaningless.

  shiftless

  (SHIFT-lis)

  ADJECTIVE: Lack of ambition; unwillingness to work in order to be successful.

  She was an incredibly SHIFTLESS girl; she was trying to get paid without actually doing her job.

  shilly-shally

  (SHIL-ee-shal-ee)

  VERB: To vacillate or be indecisive; to waste time or dawdle.

  shirker

  (SHUR-ker)

  NOUN: One who ignores his or her responsibilities; dawdler.

  shuteye

  (SHUHT-aye)

  NOUN: Another word for sleep or slumber.

  siesta

  (see-ES-tuh)

  NOUN: A nap taken in the early afternoon.

  sinecure

  (SAHY-ni-kyoor)

  NOUN: A job that pays well but requires very little work.

  skulk

  (skuhlk)

  VERB: To move around in a secret, stealthy manner; as a noun in the U.K. it refers to a shirker, or someone who avoids his or her responsibilities.

  slack

  (slak)

  ADJECTIVE: Being loose or relaxed, not taut (as in a rope); lacking in energy or vitality.

  slacker

  (slak-er)

  NOUN: One who spends his or her days in an idle manner; malingerer.

  James was a SLACKER in school and refused to pay attention or do any of his assignments.

  slapdash

  (SLAP-dash)

  ADJECTIVE: Haphazard; disorganized.

  sleep-inducing

  (sleep-in-DOOS-ing)

  ADJECTIVE: Something that causes sleep; soporific.

  sleepy

  (SLEE-pee)

  ADJECTIVE: Wanting to go to sleep; drowsy.

  slipshod

  (SLIP-shod)

  ADJECTIVE: Sloppy; careless; slapdash.

  The kitchen had a SLIPSHOD appearance; the sink was piled high with dishes, the floor was covered with papers and food, and the oven was open.

  slog

  (slog)

  VERB: Trudge; to work at something for a long time with few results.

  slothful

  (SLAWTH-fuhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Lazy; showing a disinclination to work or exertion.

  slouch

  (slouch)

  VERB: To stand in a nonupright, drooping fashion; as a noun, a slouch is someone who does not care to do something well, a loafer.

  When you SLOUCH like that, you wrinkle your clothes and ruin your posture.

  slowcoach

  (SLOH-kohch)

  NOUN: Someone who moves very slowly; a laggard.

  slowgoing

  (SLOH-GOH-ing)

  ADJECTIVE: Happening at a slow pace.

  slowness

  (SLOH-nis)

  NOUN: Characterized by being slow; laggardness.

  slowpoke

  (SLOH-pohk)

  NOUN: Someone who moves very slowly; slowcoach.

  slug

  (sluhg)

  NOUN: A slow-moving mollusk or a person who behaves in a similarly “sluggish” manner.

  slugabed

  (SLUHG-uh-bed)

  NOUN: A person who likes to sleep in past a normal hour.

  Henrietta was such a SLUGABED that she would still be sleeping hours after we had all had our breakfast.

  sluggard

  (SLUHG-erd)

  NOUN: One who avoids work and other responsibilities.

  sluggish

  (SLUHG-ish)

  ADJECTIVE: Slow-moving; lethargic and listless.

  slumberland

  (SLUHM-ber-land)

  NOUN: The imaginary place kids are told they visit when they fall asleep.

  slumberous

  (SLUHM-ber-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Drowsiness; sleepiness.

  snooze

  (snooz)

  NOUN: A short nap; used as a verb it means to take a short nap.

  somnambulism

  (som-NAM-byuh-liz-uhm)

  NOUN: The technical phrase for sleepwalking; noctambulism.

  somniferous

  (som-NIF-er-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Having the ability to cause sleepiness.

  “I find this conversation SOMNIFEROUS, so I am going to bed,” she sighed.

  somnolent

  (SOM-nuh-luhnt)

  ADJECTIVE: Drowsy or sleepy; quiet.

  soporific

  (sop-uh-RIF-ik)

  ADJECTIVE: Having the ability to cause sleepiness. As a noun, it refers to the thing that causes sleepiness—like a drug.

  spiritless

  (SPIR-it-lis)

  ADJECTIVE: Lacking courage or vitality.

  sponger

  (SPUHN-jer)

  NOUN: One who lives off of others for all his or her needs; freeloader.

  squander

  (SKWON-der)

  VERB: To waste something in an extravagant manner.

  He was known to SQUANDER their modest income on elaborate meals and entertainment.

  stagnation

  (stag-NAY-shuhn)

  NOUN: A cessation in movement or activity; stasis.

  standstill

  (STAND-stil)

  NOUN: A point in time at which all movement and activity stops.

  The afternoon was at a STANDSTILL as we all were lulled into a heavy sleep with our full bellies.

  stasis

  (STAY-SIS)

  NOUN: A state during which there is no movement, development, or progression; in science, this can be the result of two forces balancing each other out.

  static

  (STAT-ik)

  ADJECTIVE: Remaining in a fixed position; stationary.


  stationary

  (STAY-shuh-ner-ee)

  ADJECTIVE: To stay in one place; immobile. Not to be confused with stationery, which is the pretty paper upon which you’d write a letter.

  Wherever there is degeneration and apathy, there also is sexual perversion, cold depravity, miscarriage, premature old age, grumbling youth, there is a decline in the arts, indifference to science, and injustice in all its forms.

  —ANTON CHEKHOV

  stillness

  (STIL-nis)

  NOUN: Without motion or movement; calmness or tranquility.

  stodgy

  (STOJ-ee)

  ADJECTIVE: Devoid of originality; unimaginative and tedious.

  stoicism

  (STOH-uh-siz-uhm)

  NOUN: Indifference to all matters—both ones that cause pleasure and those that cause pain.

  His STOICISM was amazing; he showed no expression while they debated whether he would live or die.

  stolid

  (STOL-id)

  ADJECTIVE: Lacking in emotions; impassive.

  stoppage

  (STOP-ij)

  NOUN: A situation where all movement, progress, or work has been stopped.

  straggler

  (STRAG-ler)

  NOUN: A person who falls behind or wanders off; dawdler.

  The procession carried on, everyone walking in a straight line, except for one STRAGGLER who had fallen far behind the group.

  stultify

  (STUHL-tuh-fy)

  VERB: To make someone seem unintelligent or foolish.

  stupefy

  (STOO-puh-fy)

  VERB: Being unable to think clearly as a result of boredom or tiredness; astonish.

  stupor

  (STOO-per)

  NOUN: A trancelike or dazed state, marked by a lack of mental acuteness.

  Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious eyes, Desirous still,

  still impotent to rise.

  —WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

  supine

  (soo-PYN)

  ADJECTIVE: Lying on one’s back in a face-upward position; remaining totally inactive in a situation that calls for action.

  After your surgery it will be necessary for you to remain SUPINE while you recover.

  surcease

  (sur-SEES)

  NOUN: Stoppage; intermission.

  suspension

  (suh-SPEN-shuhn)

  NOUN: A temporary interruption or stoppage of something, whether it’s an employee from his or her post or a student from school.

  T

  tardiness

  (TAHR-dee-nis)

  NOUN: Lateness; slowness.

  tarry

  (TAR-ee)

  VERB: To delay; to linger, especially if in anticipation of something.

  Don’t TARRY as you normally do after dinner because we have so much work to do tonight.

  tedium

  (TEE-dee-uhm)

  NOUN: That which is dull or monotonous.

  tentative

  (TEN-tuh-tiv)

  ADJECTIVE: Showing caution or hesitation; allowing for the possibility of changes later on.

  tepid

  (TEP-id)

  ADJECTIVE: Lukewarm; halfhearted.

  time-wasting

  (tym-WAY-sting)

  ADJECTIVE: Literally, something that wastes time.

  It’s extraordinary how we go through life with eyes half shut, with dull ears, with dormant thoughts. Perhaps it’s just as well; and it may be that it is this very dullness that makes life to the incalculable majority so supportable and so welcome.

  —JOSEPH CONRAD

  toddle

  (TOD-l)

  NOUN: A slow, leisurely walk; stroll.

  torpid

  (TAWR-pid)

  ADJECTIVE: Stagnant; lazy; can refer to something that is hibernation or a part of the body that has gone numb.

  torpor

  (TAWR-per)

  NOUN: A state of mental and/or physical inactivity.

  tractable

  (TRAK-tuh-buhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Easily controlled or manipulated; easy to deal with.

  He found that, unlike adults, children were TRACTABLE and easily trained to steal for him.

  trail

  (trayl)

  VERB: To walk behind a person or thing; to fall behind or walk in a slow manner as a result of boredom.

  traipse

  (trayps)

  VERB: To walk or wander without any specific destination in mind.

  trance

  (trans)

  NOUN: A semiconscious or hypnotic state in which some voluntary abilities may be debilitated.

  trifling

  (TRY-fling)

  ADJECTIVE: Of little importance; trivial.

  trivial

  (TRIV-ee-uhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Unimportant; worthless.

  Irene found most conversations TRIVIAL and would not bother to participate in them.

  troglodyte

  (TROG-luh-dyt)

  NOUN: Formally, a troglodyte refers to an actual cave-dweller during Prehistoric times; informally, it is used to refer to an uncouth, unmannered person or hermit.

  Jean-Luc the TROGLODYTE once had excellent manners and social skills, but years of living alone stripped those away.

  truant

  (TROO-uhnt)

  ADJECTIVE: Avoiding one’s responsibilities without a valid reason; as a noun, it is used in reference to one who shirks his or her duties.

  twiddle

  (TWID-l)

  VERB: To fiddle with something; the word is often used in relation to one’s fingers.

  U

  unaffected

  (uhn-uh-FEK-tid)

  ADJECTIVE: Not affected by something in any way; unchanged.

  unambitious

  (uhn-am-BISH-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: Lack of ambition; unmotivated.

  unavailing

  (uhn-uh-VAY-ling)

  ADJECTIVE: Not achieving a desired outcome; futile.

  unbusied

  (uhn-BIZ-eed)

  ADJECTIVE: Not busy; idle.

  Because she avoided so many commitments and responsibilities, after a while her days were completely UNBUSIED and empty.

  uncircumspect

  (uhn-SUR-kuhm-spekt)

  ADJECTIVE: Acting without considering the consequences; careless.

  unconcern

  (uhn-kuhn-SERN)

  NOUN: A lack of concern or regard; indifference.

  uncurious

  (uhn-KYOOR-ee-uhs)

  ADJECTIVE: A lack of curiosity; apathetic.

  undemonstrative

  (uhn-duh-MON-struh-tiv)

  ADJECTIVE: Not able to show expression; impassive.

  undesirable

  (uhn-di-ZYUHR-uh-buhl)

  ADJECTIVE: Unwelcome or unwanted; can also be used as a noun in reference to a person that would be viewed in that way.

  undirected

  (uhn-di-REK-tid)

  ADJECTIVE: Not directed to a specific place or purpose; aimless.

  Our walk was UNDIRECTED as we wandered the city after all the shops were closed.

  undisposed

  (uhn-di-SPOHZD)

  ADJECTIVE: Not prone to do something; unwilling.

  Although there were parts of being a father that he enjoyed and eagerly participated in, he was entirely UNDISPOSED to changing diapers.