ennui
- noun
- /ɑːnˈwi/
- After working the same job for three years, she began to feel a sense of ennui and wanted a change.
Examples
-
At night, he would get out of bed and wander about the rooms, tormented by ennui.
Fiction book (2000) -
Willie and Fisher sit at the command console, battling the ennui of their watch.
Fiction book (1997) -
We all experience a touch of ennui occasionally.
Fiction book (1993) -
I could go on and on about the subject and soon generate overwhelming ennui all around.
Fiction book (2000) -
I spent time in taverns and clubs, but I always left these places with a certain ennui.
Fiction book (1993) -
I cursed myself, my tiresome ennui, my inability to care about anything.
Fiction book (1990) -
Endless distractions, mind wanderings, and ennui seem to get in the way.
Blog text (22) -
We're brightening up, shaking off any tugs of ennui, and learning how to be happier.
Blog text (6) -
The characters populating Michael's life are both familiar figures of twenty-something ennui, but also something entirely their own.
Blog text (16) -
Machado's immortal ultimately falls victim to ennui, the great affliction of the nineteenth century.
Academic text (2000)
Synonyms
A feeling of being tired and restless when you have nothing to do
A lack of interest or care about things
Feeling bored from doing the same thing for a long time
A feeling of little energy and no interest
Antonyms
How Bored
Surface Forms
Etymology
Ennui comes from the French verb ennuyer, which meant 'to annoy', and the old French noun ennui meant 'annoyance'. So today ennui means a long, quiet 'boredom', a slow annoyance when nothing feels interesting.