LAZY Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'lazy' distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and slothful are common synonyms of lazy . While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble. // take-out foods for lazy cooks

Q: When is it sensible to use 'indolent' instead of 'lazy'?

Although the words indolent and lazy have much in common, indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity. // the heat made us indolent

Q: When might 'slothful' be a better fit than 'lazy'?

While in some cases nearly identical to lazy , slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for. // fired for being slothful about filling orders

lazy 1 of 2

adjective

ˈlā-zē

Definition of lazy

as in idle

not easily aroused to action or work the lazy dog just wanted to lie on the couch all day and sleep

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in careless

failing to give proper care and attention that cookbook author can be lazy about giving cooking times and temperatures

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

lazy

2 of 2

verb

as in to bum

to spend time doing nothing a good afternoon to spend lazying on the back porch

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word lazy distinct from other similar adjectives?

The words indolent and slothful are common synonyms of lazy. While all three words mean "not easily aroused to activity," lazy suggests a disinclination to work or to take trouble.

take-out foods for lazy cooks

When is it sensible to use indolent instead of lazy?

Although the words indolent and lazy have much in common, indolent suggests a love of ease and a dislike of movement or activity.

the heat made us indolent

When might slothful be a better fit than lazy?

While in some cases nearly identical to lazy, slothful implies a temperamental inability to act promptly or speedily when action or speed is called for.

fired for being slothful about filling orders

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of lazy

Adjective

With the White Sox clinging to a one-run lead, Anthony Kay erased Yordan Alvarez on a lineout and got Jose Altuve to hit a lazy fly ball, ending the threat. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2026 And Congress ought to be – Congress ought to get up off its ice-cold lazy butt and cut it itself. — CBS News, 27 Sep. 2026 With a lazy summer in our rear view and hectic school and job schedules around the bend, ‘tis the season for overworking ourselves. — Cheryl Fenton, Flow Space, 23 Sep. 2026 Comedies can be very lazy, and TV can sometimes be lazy in terms of cinematography. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for lazy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for lazy

Adjective

When haul trucks sit idle waiting to recharge, every minute of lost production directly erodes operating margins.

— Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026
His friends—these would have been the idle ladies of Moscow society, Countess Khomyakova and Princess Tuchkova and Countess Orlova and others in their circle.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of idle

Adjective

Josh Hoover may have been a bit careless, but every game TCU has played this season is another painful example how badly both his old school, and coach, miss him.

— Mac Engel October 14, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
Red Raiders quarterback Will Hammond can be careless with the football, throwing three interceptions against Sam Houston last weekend and posting five picks in four games.

— Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of careless

Verb

The joy Lisa has with her RHUGT cast compared with the dread her RHOSLC cast seems to bring her really bums me out — especially because of how much of this trip is championing the sisterhood of Housewives.

— Tom Smyth, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026
My conversation partner returned, somehow unable to bum even a single cigarette from anyone at this party.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 29 July 2026

Definition of bum

Adjective

What was once a boring, sleepy issue where the PUC made decisions more or less in a vacuum is no longer the case.

— Jordan Blum, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
On what had been something of a sleepy early Saturday afternoon for the Washington Capitals, Ryan Leonard suddenly produced a scintillating effort that ignited the home team.

— Des Bieler, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of sleepy

Adjective

With nowhere to put her maternal love after the loss of her son Jason, Pam Voorhees (Linda Cardellini) soon takes an interest in Grace, whose own mom appears to be abusive and neglectful.

— Glenn Garner, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Still, Duncan on Friday argued that the move is a mistake that empowers neglectful landlords and fails tenants.

— Dylan Lysen, Kansas City Star, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of neglectful

Verb

The colony also has a population of New Zealand fur seals that laze around the rocks frequented by flocks of seabirds.

— Todd Symons, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
The pigs that would soon enough become lunch lazed in the compost-pile mud in front of a five-star-hotel-worthy view of the Cretan Sea.

— Shannon McMahon, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 July 2026

Definition of laze

Adjective

Screenings in healthy adults are also more likely to catch indolent disease, meaning slow-growing or static conditions, than aggressive ones.

— Hanna Wickes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Sep. 2026
Possibly a deepening and widening of populist politics, as both the far right and the far left win over more of the allegedly indolent youth.

— Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of indolent

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lazing

lazy

lazybones

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Style

“Lazy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lazy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of lazy

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verb

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Words for Laziness, and for Lazy People

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