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ennui - 4 dictionary results
en⋅nui
[ahn-wee, ahn-wee; Fr. ahn-nwee] 
wi
–noun
| a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom: The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui. |
Synonyms:
listlessness, tedium, lassitude, languor.
listlessness, tedium, lassitude, languor.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To ennui
| en·nui (ŏn-wē', ŏn'wē) n. Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom: "The servants relieved their ennui with gambling and gossip about their masters" (John Barth). [French, from Old French enui, from ennuyer, to annoy, bore; see annoy.] Word History: Were they alive today, users of Classical Latin might be surprised to find that centuries later a phrase of theirs still survives, although as a single word. The phrase mihi in odiō est (literally translated as "to me in a condition of dislike or hatred is"), meaning "I hate or dislike," gave rise to the Vulgar Latin verb *inodiāre, "to make odious," the source of the Old French verb ennuyer or anoier, "to annoy, bore." This was borrowed into English by around 1275 as anoien, our annoy. From the Old French verb a noun meaning "worry, boredom" was derived, which became ennui in modern French. This noun, with the sense "boredom," was borrowed into English in the 18th century, perhaps filling a need in polite, cultivated society. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ennui
En`nui"\, n. [F., fr. L. in odio in hatred. See Annoy.] A feeling of weariness and disgust; dullness and languor of spirits, arising from satiety or want of interest; tedium. --T. Gray.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : ennui
Spanish:
aburrimiento,
German:
die Langeweile,
Japanese:
退屈
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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