Meaning

2 senses
  1. Without specific purpose, intent or effort.

    I idly played with the paper, not even realizing I was folding it into a paper airplane.

  2. In an idle manner.

    in an idle manner

Examples

15 sentences
  1. We can't sit idly by.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · CM · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  2. He often spends his time idly.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  3. We can't just stand idly by.

    ruМы не можем безучастно стоять в стороне.

    deWie können nicht tatenlos zusehen.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  4. You idly listened to your friends chat.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · tieguy · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem
  5. She looked idly out of the window.

    deSie schaute untätig aus dem Fenster.

    CC BY · Tatoeba · sundown · C1Open on TatoebaReport a problem

Translations

1 languages

Origin

From Middle English idely, ydelly, idelliche, from Old English īdellīċe, equivalent to idl

From Middle English idely, ydelly, idelliche, from Old English īdellīċe, equivalent to idle + -ly.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

more idly, most idly
Comparativemore idly Lesson
Superlativemost idly

regular

Synonyms

1 synonyms
Close in meaning

Word family

1 related words
Relatedidle

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
idly — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto