Sloth: A Dictionary for the Lazy Read Online Free Page B

out.
static
    (STAT-ik)
    ADJECTIVE: Remaining in a fixed position; stationary.
stationary
    (STAY-shuh-ner-ee)
    ADJECTIVE: To stay in one place; immobile. Not to be confused with stationery, which is the pretty paper upon which you’d write a letter.
    Wherever there is degeneration and apathy, there also is sexual perversion, cold depravity, miscarriage, premature old age, grumbling youth, there is a decline in the arts, indifference to science, and injustice in all its forms.
    —A NTON C HEKHOV
stillness
    (STIL-nis)
    NOUN: Without motion or movement; calmness or tranquility.
stodgy
    (STOJ-ee)
    ADJECTIVE: Devoid of originality; unimaginative and tedious.
stoicism
    (STOH-uh-siz-uhm)
    NOUN: Indifference to all matters—both ones that cause pleasure and those that cause pain.
    His STOICISM was amazing; he showed no expression while they debated whether he would live or die.
stolid
    (STOL-id)
    ADJECTIVE: Lacking in emotions; impassive.
stoppage
    (STOP-ij)
    NOUN: A situation where all movement, progress, or work has been stopped.
straggler
    (STRAG-ler)
    NOUN: A person who falls behind or wanders off; dawdler.
    The procession carried on, everyone walking in a straight line, except for one STRAGGLER who had fallen far behind the group.
stultify
    (STUHL-tuh-fy)
    VERB: To make someone seem unintelligent or foolish.
stupefy
    (STOO-puh-fy)
    VERB: Being unable to think clearly as a result of boredom or tiredness; astonish.
stupor
    (STOO-per)
    NOUN: A trancelike or dazed state, marked by a lack of mental acuteness.
    Sloth views the towers of Fame with envious eyes, Desirous still,
still impotent to rise.
    —W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE
supine
    (soo-PYN)
    ADJECTIVE: Lying on one’s back in a face-upward position; remaining totally inactive in a situation that calls for action.
    After your surgery it will be necessary for you to remain SUPINE while you recover.
surcease
    (sur-SEES)
    NOUN: Stoppage; intermission.
suspension
    (suh-SPEN-shuhn)
    NOUN: A temporary interruption or stoppage of something, whether it’s an employee from his or her post or a student from school.

T
tardiness
    (TAHR-dee-nis)
    NOUN: Lateness; slowness.
tarry
    (TAR-ee)
    VERB: To delay; to linger, especially if in anticipation of something.
    Don’t TARRY as you normally do after dinner because we have so much work to do tonight.
tedium
    (TEE-dee-uhm)
    NOUN: That which is dull or monotonous.
tentative
    (TEN-tuh-tiv)
    ADJECTIVE: Showing caution or hesitation; allowing for the possibility of changes later on.
tepid
    (TEP-id)
    ADJECTIVE: Lukewarm; halfhearted.
time-wasting
    (tym-WAY-sting)
    ADJECTIVE: Literally, something that wastes time.
    It’s extraordinary how we go through life with eyes half shut, with dull ears, with dormant thoughts. Perhaps it’s just as well; and it may be that it is this very dullness that makes life to the incalculable majority so supportable and so welcome.
    —J OSEPH C ONRAD
toddle
    (TOD-l)
    NOUN: A slow, leisurely walk; stroll.
torpid
    (TAWR-pid)
    ADJECTIVE: Stagnant; lazy; can refer to something that is hibernation or a part of the body that has gone numb.
torpor
    (TAWR-per)
    NOUN: A state of mental and/or physical inactivity.
tractable
    (TRAK-tuh-buhl)
    ADJECTIVE: Easily controlled or manipulated; easy to deal with.
    He found that, unlike adults, children were TRACTABLE and easily trained to steal for him.
trail
    (trayl)
    VERB: To walk behind a person or thing; to fall behind or walk in a slow manner as a result of boredom.
traipse
    (trayps)
    VERB: To walk or wander without any specific destination in mind.
trance
    (trans)
    NOUN: A semiconscious or hypnotic state in which some voluntary abilities may be debilitated.
trifling
    (TRY-fling)
    ADJECTIVE: Of little importance; trivial.
trivial
    (TRIV-ee-uhl)
    ADJECTIVE: Unimportant; worthless.
    Irene found most conversations TRIVIAL and would not bother to participate in them.
troglodyte
    (TROG-luh-dyt)
    NOUN: Formally, a
troglodyte
refers to an actual cave-dweller during Prehistoric times;