ennui
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en·nui
(ŏn-wē′, ŏn′wē)n.
Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom: "The servants relieved their ennui with gambling and gossip about their masters" (John Barth).
[French, from Old French enui, from ennuyer, to annoy, bore; see annoy.]
Word History: Both annoy and ennui originate from the same Latin phrase. When the Romans wanted to say that they hated something, they used an idiom whose wording may seem a little unexpected for speakers of English: mihi in odiō est, which literally means "to me in a condition of dislike or hatred it is." Translated more idiomatically, the expression just means "I hate or dislike." The words in odiō ("in hatred") in this idiom gave rise to the Vulgar Latin verb *inodiāre, "to be hateful or a source of trouble to, annoy," the source of the Old French verb ennuyer or anoier, "to trouble, annoy, bore." This verb was borrowed into Middle English by around 1275 as anoien, our annoy. The Old French verb anoier also gave rise to a noun, variously spelled enui and annui, meaning "chagrin, sadness." The Modern French form of this noun, ennui, came to mean "boredom, lassitude," and it was with this sense that the word was borrowed into English in the 1700s.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
ennui
(ˈɒnwiː; French ɑ̃nɥi)n
a feeling of listlessness and general dissatisfaction resulting from lack of activity or excitement
[C18: from French: apathy, from Old French enui annoyance, vexation; see annoy]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
en•nui
(ɑnˈwi)n.
a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom.
[1660–70; < French: boredom; Old French enui displeasure; see annoy]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ennui
A feeling of general dissatisfaction and listlessness caused by boredom or lack of activity.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Noun | 1. | ennui - the feeling of being bored by something tedious dissatisfaction - the feeling of being displeased and discontent; "he was never slow to express his dissatisfaction with the service he received" blahs - a general feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction fatigue - (always used with a modifier) boredom resulting from overexposure to something; "he was suffering from museum fatigue"; "after watching TV with her husband she had a bad case of football fatigue"; "the American public is experiencing scandal fatigue"; "political fatigue" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
ennui
noun (Literary) boredom, dissatisfaction, tiredness, the doldrums, lethargy, tedium, lassitude, listlessness He suffered from ennui whenever he was alone.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
ennui
nounThe condition of being bored:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
アンニュイつれづれもの憂さ憂鬱無聊
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
ennui
n no pl (liter) → Ennui m (liter)
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007