idly

i·dle  (dl)

adj. i·dler, i·dlest

1.

a. Not employed or busy: idle carpenters. See Synonyms at inactive.

b. Avoiding work or employment; lazy: shiftless, idle youth. See Synonyms at lazy.

c. Not in use or operation: idle hands.

2. Lacking substance, value, or basis. See Synonyms at baseless, vain.

v. i·dled, i·dling, i·dles

v.intr.

1. To pass time without working or while avoiding work.

2. To move lazily and without purpose.

3. To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor vehicle.

v.tr.

1. To pass (time) without working or while avoiding work; waste: idle the afternoon away.

2. To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive.

3. To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.

n.

1. A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle: an engine running quietly at idle.

2. A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest: set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.

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[Middle English idel, from Old English del.]

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idle·ness n.

idler (dlr) n.

idly adv.

Thesaurus

Adv.

1.

idly - in an idle manner; "this is what I always imagined myself doing in the south of France, sitting idly, drinking coffee, watching the people" lazily

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idly

adverb lazily, casually, passively, languidly, unthinkingly, sluggishly, languorously, lethargically, apathetically, indolently, inertly, lackadaisically, inactively, shiftlessly, slothfully We talked idly about magazines and baseball.
actively, busily, energetically, dynamically, animatedly, industriously

Translations

idly [ˈaɪdlɪ] ADV (= in a leisurely way) → ociosamente; (= without doing anything) → sin hacer nada; (= absentmindedly) → distraídamente; (= to pass the time) [chat] → para pasar el rato; (= uselessly) → vanamente, inútilmente
she found it impossible to sit idly at home → le resultaba imposible sentarse en casa sin hacer nada
he glanced idly out of the window → miró distraído por la ventana
I wondered idly if he had meant what he said → me preguntaba inadvertidamente si lo que había dicho iba en serio
to stand or sit idly by → estarse de brazos cruzados

idly [ˈɪdli] adv

(doing nothing) to sit idly → rester assis à ne rien faire, rester les bras croisés
to stand idly by → rester les bras croisés
He said that he would not stand idly by while the dangers increased → Il a déclaré qu'il ne resterait pas les bras croisés alors que le péril s'accroît.

(with no particular purpose) to glance idly at sth → jeter un coup d'œil machinal sur qch
to talk idly about sth → parler de qch pour passer le temps
We talked idly about magazines and baseball → On a parlé de baseball et de magazines pour passer le temps.

idly

adv

(= without working) → untätig; (= pleasurably) → müßig; to stand idly by → untätig herumstehen

(= lazily) → faul, träge

(= abstractedly) watch, toy with sth → gedankenverloren; (= without thinking) say, suggest → ohne sich/mir etc etwas dabei zu denken; I was idly curious → ich war irgendwie neugierig

(= vainly) speculate → müßig

idly [ˈaɪdlɪ] adv → pigramente
he stood idly by, watching the others working → è rimasto lì senza far niente a guardare gli altri che lavoravano

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idly [ˈaɪdlɪ] adv → pigramente
he stood idly by, watching the others working → è rimasto lì senza far niente a guardare gli altri che lavoravano