Idle or idyll?
idle is an adjective meaning “Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or…”; idyll is a noun meaning “Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus's short…”. Use idle as an adjective and idyll as a noun (idle is also a noun: “The state of idling, of being idle”). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) idle is about 18 times as common as idyll.
What is the difference between idle and idyll?
| idle | idyll | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adjective, verb, noun | noun |
| Meaning | Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular To spend (time) in idleness; to waste; to consume | Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the Idylls An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience |
| Example | idle hours | none recorded |
| Forms | none | idylls |
| Pronunciation | /ˈaɪd(ə)l/ /ˈʌɪdəl/ | /ˈɪd.ɪl/ /ˈɪd.əl/ /ˈaɪ.dɪl/ |
| In writing | 5.0 times per million words | about once in every 4 million words |
Sources: idle and idyll in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of idle and idyll
idle
- 1
Not being used appropriately; not occupied; (of time) with no, no important, or not much activity
idle hours
- 2
To spend (time) in idleness; to waste; to consume
- 3
The state of idling, of being idle
- 4
Not engaged in any occupation or employment; unemployed; inactive; doing nothing in particular
idle workmen
- 5
To lose or spend time doing nothing, or without being employed in business
to idle in an IRC channel
- 6
The lowest selectable thrust or power setting of an engine
a lumpy idle
- 7
Averse to work, labor or employment; lazy; slothful
an idle fellow
- 8
Of an engine: to run at a slow speed, or out of gear; to tick over
idyll
- 1
Any poem or short written piece composed in the style of Theocritus's short pastoral poems, the Idylls
- 2
An episode or series of events or circumstances of pastoral or rural simplicity, fit for an idyll; a carefree or lighthearted experience
- 3
A composition, usually instrumental, of a pastoral or sentimental character, e.g. Siegfried Idyll by Richard Wagner
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, idle or idyll?
idle appears 5.0 times per million words; idyll about once in every 4 million words.
idle 5.0 times per million wordsidyll about once in every 4 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).