Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A painful or wearisome state of mind due to the want of any object of interest, or to enforced attention to something destitute of interest; the condition of being bored; tedium.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A feeling of weariness and disgust; dullness and languor of spirits, arising from satiety or want of interest; tedium.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A gripping
listlessness ormelancholia caused byboredom ;depression (Wikipedia).
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the feeling of being bored by something tedious
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Prior to this we'd had limited access to the French word "ennui" - a more grandiose, long-term boredom - but once we had our own word for listless dissatisfaction, we embraced it.
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So, I suppose, this ennui is the ying to that yang.
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"I suppose this is what they call ennui," said Eric again, after a pause.
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The ennui is without doubt the worst thing a POW has to contend with.
Thomas Hawksworth 2010
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It means the post-novel ennui is wearing off, and maybe when coffeeem sends back "Lucky Day," I'll have something useful to say about it.
a little drop of poison in the red red blood coffeeem 2009
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On the theory that post-novel ennui is inevitable, and I really only have one more short story to finish in the near future, I did a bad thing.
just drive safely. truepenny 2008
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My current bout of emo and ennui is being laid at the feet of insufficient dairyfat, and as a result, I am treating it by P.O. administration of macaroni and cheese, which seems to be helping.
Well, that was a pretty productive day matociquala 2008
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The post-novella ennui is not as bad as the post-novel ennui, but it's still pretty darned draining.
the plot of our life sweats in the dark like a face truepenny 2008
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Kind of funny, isn't it, that the Kudeshka word for "schoolchildren" sounds a bit like the English word "ennui"?
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I will not say that the Kingdom of Heaven was within us, for we were just as troublesome and unregenerate as any boys that ever lived on earth before or since, but the word ennui was not in the lexicon of my youth.
In the days of my youth when I was a student in the University of Virginia, 1888-1893. James Powell Cocke 1947
nkocharh commented on the word ennui
Thank you, Edward Gorey.
December 11, 2006
kamezuki commented on the word ennui
Zorak: Brak, be honest now. Are you or are you not totally and completely nuts? Well?
Brak: I'm thinking!
Space Ghost: Oh, this is all so childish. So meaningless.
Brak: It's merely symptomatic of our postmodern ennui. There are no absolutes--unless you perceive our world as meaningless, when it's really your OWN freedom you detest! ... I like pork!
January 27, 2007
tankexmortis commented on the word ennui
Damn you nkocharh! I came here just to mention that line, thereby impressing the entire internet with my leet knowledge of counter-culture heroes. But I guess you're 51 days leeter than I.
Seriously though - best Gorey line ever.
February 1, 2007
evin290 commented on the word ennui
This always reminds me of the Gashleycrumb Tinies.
May 20, 2007
uncleosbert commented on the word ennui
thank you, gustave flaubert
July 8, 2007
sera commented on the word ennui
Gotta have ennui.
August 14, 2007
oroboros commented on the word ennui
Interesting to compare and contrast weltschmerz with ennui.
August 14, 2007
Prolagus commented on the word ennui
For Ennui is a growth of English root,
Though nameless in our language:--we retort
The fact for words, and let the French translate
That awful Yawn which Sleep cannot abate.
(Lord Byron)
March 12, 2008
dgstone commented on the word ennui
Pronounced "ahn·new·ee." Gorey's Gashleycrumb Tinies was a stroke of genius.
March 15, 2008
sionnach commented on the word ennui
Happy Wordie bisesquicentennial to ennui, who would take a bow, except that it's all just so --- what's the word? Oh, who cares, really?
February 24, 2009
reesetee commented on the word ennui
I'd reply to your comment, but I can't be bothered.
February 24, 2009
madmouth commented on the word ennui
Where can we apply to change the definition? "ennui" isn't boredom; it's being sick of life; it's a state of mind.
April 27, 2009
bilby commented on the word ennui
1. You can click the 'more' button to feel at least displeased and discontent.
2. Go humbug Princeton.
April 27, 2009
dimã©lion commented on the word ennui
not sure if this is common knowledge in Wordie World, but "ennui" is derived from the same phrase "annoyed" is derived from; which is to say, "mihi in odio est" (Latin: "it is hateful to me").
April 27, 2009
madmouth commented on the word ennui
how hateful all this clicking is
one is simply nauseous at it
April 27, 2009
100000232338334 commented on the word ennui
Now I learn from Bill that there were vampires who became afflicted with terrible remorse, or perhaps ennui, after a long life. -Charlaine Harris, Living Dead in Dallas
December 11, 2010
yarb commented on the word ennui
Please tell me that Bill is a vampire too!
A vampire named Bill would really be the icing on this whole Buffy / Twilight vampire cake.
December 11, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word ennui
Wait a minute. Is bilby a vampire?
December 11, 2010
bilby commented on the word ennui
After careful thought, I conclude I am not a vampire. Unless my victims have hommous coursing in their veins, in which case ...
January 10, 2024
ruzuzu commented on the word ennui
Have you ever heard of the "Bunnicula" books? The titular character is allegedly a vampire rabbit--but he's a vegetarian (he only sucks the juice out of vegetables).
I know there's a lot of tension in the world of bunny-bilby relations, but maybe a shared love of hummus could be a place to start.
January 10, 2024