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bone-idle

bone-idle

1 9.1
Very lazy and not willing to do any work or help
  • adjective
  • Offensive
translation icon : haragán (ofensivo, coloquial)
  • Perhaps I found it so idyllic because I was actually bone-idle?

Examples

  • The manager was frustrated by how bone-idle the employees were during the busy season.

  • You haven't done a hard day's work in your life, you bone-idle bastard.

  • I have 18 rooms here, a bone-idle staff eating their heads off, and when you come home from South Africa, - you go straight to your club.

  • He's so bone-idle that he refuses to help with any household chores.

  • After weeks of doing nothing, I realized how bone-idle I had become.

Synonyms

lazy
vsbone-idle
355 1.0

Not willing to work or make an effort

is the same idea but implies a more extreme, habitual form
idle
vsbone-idle
57 2.8

Not working or being used

is specifically about a personal, extreme habit of refusing to work
shiftless
vsbone-idle
  • Offensive
5 8.4

A person who is lazy and unwilling to work or try

is focused narrowly on extreme laziness rather than on ambition level
lackadaisical
vsbone-idle
5 8.6

Showing little energy or interest and doing things slowly and carelessly

is more absolute, meaning complete unwillingness to do work
inactive
vsbone-idle
4 2.3

Not moving and not showing much physical or mental energy

is about a persistent unwillingness to work rather than mere stillness
slothful
vsbone-idle
4 7.2

Not willing to work and often inactive

is similar but used more for very extreme, habitual inactivity
indolent
vsbone-idle
2 8.0

Not wanting to work or try hard

is equally habitual but stresses extreme lack of any work effort
bone-lazy
vsbone-idle
  • Offensive
7.9

Not willing to do any work most of the time

is the same extreme unwillingness but in a slightly different form
otiose
vsbone-idle
  • Literature
9.9

Unwilling to work or help

is the same strong unwillingness but in informal everyday speech
work-shy
vsbone-idle
  • UK
8.5

Not willing to do a job or make an effort

is more absolute, implying total unwillingness rather than just avoidance
loungy
vsbone-idle
  • Informal
8.1

Tending to be lazy and preferring to sit or rest instead of move

is more absolute, describing complete refusal to work rather than lounging
all ceebs
vsbone-idle
  • Slang
9.9

Feeling too lazy to do anything

denotes an extreme, habitual unwillingness rather than a temporary state
just ceebs
vsbone-idle
  • Slang
9.9

Feeling too lazy to do something

is stronger, indicating a deeper, ongoing refusal to work
faineant
vsbone-idle
  • Archaic
9.9

Not willing to work or make effort

is the common informal expression for that same extreme idleness

Antonyms

664 1.0

Operating now and not stopped

17 3.3

Working hard and carefully to complete tasks

2.5

Wanting to work hard to reach a goal

How Lazy

bone-idle
  • Offensive
1 9.1
slothful
4 7.2
lazy
355 1.0
idle
57 2.8

Surface Forms

bone-idle positive

Morphology

bone-idle = bone + idle (semi-transparent) = bone + idle

The core meaning 'lazy' comes from 'idle', but 'bone-' acts as an intensifier whose contribution is not a regular, productive pattern and so is not fully predictable for learners.

Etymology

Bone-idle puts bone (used like 'completely', as in bone-dry or bone-tired) together with idle ('not working'), so it paints a strong picture of total laziness. So, bone-idle means very lazy or not wanting to work.