lackadaisical

[ lak-uh-dey-zi-kuhl ]
See synonyms for: lackadaisicallackadaisicallylackadaisicalness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. without interest, vigor, or determination; listless; halfhearted: a lackadaisical attempt.

  2. lazy; indolent: a lackadaisical fellow.

Origin of lackadaisical

1
First recorded in 1760–70; lackadais(y) (variant of lackaday) + -ical

Other words for lackadaisical

Other words from lackadaisical

  • lack·a·dai·si·cal·ly, adverb
  • lack·a·dai·si·cal·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lackadaisical in a sentence

  • But everything had not gone well, and he found it very difficult to carry himself otherwise than lackadaisically.

    The Small House at Allington | Anthony Trollope
  • He sighed often, and sometimes mightily; and ogled unhappily, and smiled lackadaisically.

    The House by the Church-Yard | J. Sheridan Le Fanu
  • He pursed his mouth and looked up lackadaisically at his glowering client, saying only "Ha!"

    Guy Deverell, v. 2 of 2 | Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
  • And I—I answered lackadaisically with just a casual glance at him, 'I don't know the figures,' and absorbed myself in my viands.

    Grey Roses | Henry Harland
  • Several of these disbanded worthies were lounging about in the mean time, quite lackadaisically.

British Dictionary definitions for lackadaisical

lackadaisical

/ (ˌlækəˈdeɪzɪkəl) /


adjective
  1. lacking vitality and purpose

  2. lazy or idle, esp in a dreamy way

Origin of lackadaisical

1
C18: from earlier lackadaisy, extended form of lackaday

Derived forms of lackadaisical

  • lackadaisically, adverb
  • lackadaisicalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012