indolence
in·dol·ence/ˈɪndl̩əns/noun
indolence is spelled I-N-D-O-L-E-N-C-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (in·dol·ence). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, indolence means “Habitual laziness or sloth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of indolence is indolences.
How many letters and syllables are in indolence?
| Letters | 9: I-N-D-O-L-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: in·dol·ence |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 86,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is indolence?
Indolence appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 86,301st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce indolence?
- UK /ˈɪndəl(ə)ns/
- UK /ˈɪndl̩(ə)ns/
- US /ˈɪndl̩əns/
Indolence has 3 syllables, split in·dol·ence in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-indolence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of indolence
- indolences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indolence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Habitual laziness or sloth.
- 2
Lack of pain in a tumour.
- 3
obsoleteA state in which one feels no pain or is indifferent to it; a lack of any feeling.
- 4
obsoleteA state of repose in which neither pain nor pleasure is experienced.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indolence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense habitual laziness or sloth:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | indolence, oisiveté |
| German | Indolenz, Müßiggang, süßes Nichtstun, Trägheit |
| Portuguese | indolência |
| Spanish | indolencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does indolence come from?
Borrowed from Middle French indolence, or from its etymon Latin indolentia (“freedom from pain; insensibility”), from in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + dolēns (“hurting, suffering; grieving, lamenting”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Dolēns is the present participle of doleō (“to hurt, suffer; to be sorry, deplore, grieve for, lament”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- (“to divide, split”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).