indolent
/ˈɪn.də.lənt/adjective
indolent is spelled I-N-D-O-L-E-N-T: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, indolent means “Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistant to physical labor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in indolent?
| Letters | 8: I-N-D-O-L-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 69,884th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is indolent?
Indolent appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 69,884th 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 indolent?
- US /ˈɪn.də.lənt/
Indolent has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-indolent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of indolent
- more indolent comparative
- most indolent superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does indolent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Habitually lazy, procrastinating, or resistant to physical labor.
The indolent girl resisted doing her homework.
- 2
Inducing laziness.
indolent comfort
- 3
Causing little or no physical pain; progressing slowly; inactive (of an ulcer, etc.).
- 4
Healing slowly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Indolent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | indolent |
| German | träge, faul, arbeitsscheu , ermüdend , schmerzlos, indolent |
| Portuguese | indolente, vadio |
| Spanish | indolente |
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 indolent come from?
From French indolent or directly from Late Latin indolēns, from in- (“not”) + dolēns (“hurting”), from doleo (“to hurt”). The later sense of “living easily, slothful” perhaps developed in French.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).