(ROH-lee-POH-lee)
ADJECTIVE: Plump and round.
roost
(roost)
VERB: To settle in and rest.
rotund
(roh-TUHND)
ADJECTIVE: Round; fat.
rump
(ruhmp)
NOUN: Buttocks; backside.
rundown
(ruhn-DOUN)
ADJECTIVE: Exhausted or fatigued.
rusty
(RUHS-tee)
ADJECTIVE: Out of practice; literally, it also describes something that is covered in rust due to neglect or infrequent use.
The avenues in my neighborhood are Pride, Covetous and Lust; the cross streets are Anger, Gluttony, Envy and Sloth. I live over on Sloth, and the style on our street is to avoid the other thoroughfares.
—JOHN CHANCELLOR
S
sag
(sag)
VERB: Droop or wilt; weaken.
sandman
(SAND-man)
NOUN: The mythical man who puts sand in your eyes to make you sleepy.
saunter
(SAWN-ter)
VERB: To walk along in an unhurried, leisurely manner; meander.
He would SAUNTER through the parties, casually greeting guests without exerting too much energy.
scalawag
(SKAL-uh-wag)
NOUN: A dishonest or misbehaved person; rascal.
schlep
(shlep)
VERB: To move slowly from one place to the next; to carry something.
scrounger
(skrounj-er)
NOUN: One who freeloads or sponges off of others.
sedative
(SED-uh-tiv)
ADJECTIVE: Having a calming effect, especially in relation to a drug.
sedentary
(SED-n-ter-ee)
ADJECTIVE: Related to the act of sitting; involving little exercise.
When Edward stopped doing manual labor and took a more SEDENTARY job, he began slowly gaining weight.
semiconscious
(sem-ee-KON-shuhs)
ADJECTIVE: Existing somewhere between unconsciousness and full consciousness.
senseless
(SENS-lis)
ADJECTIVE: Without sensation; lacking perception; meaningless.
shiftless
(SHIFT-lis)
ADJECTIVE: Lack of ambition; unwillingness to work in order to be successful.
She was an incredibly SHIFTLESS girl; she was trying to get paid without actually doing her job.
shilly-shally
(SHIL-ee-shal-ee)
VERB: To vacillate or be indecisive; to waste time or dawdle.
shirker
(SHUR-ker)
NOUN: One who ignores his or her responsibilities; dawdler.
shuteye
(SHUHT-aye)
NOUN: Another word for sleep or slumber.
siesta
(see-ES-tuh)
NOUN: A nap taken in the early afternoon.
sinecure
(SAHY-ni-kyoor)
NOUN: A job that pays well but requires very little work.
skulk
(skuhlk)
VERB: To move around in a secret, stealthy manner; as a noun in the U.K. it refers to a shirker, or someone who avoids his or her responsibilities.
slack
(slak)
ADJECTIVE: Being loose or relaxed, not taut (as in a rope); lacking in energy or vitality.
slacker
(slak-er)
NOUN: One who spends his or her days in an idle manner; malingerer.
James was a SLACKER in school and refused to pay attention or do any of his assignments.
slapdash
(SLAP-dash)
ADJECTIVE: Haphazard; disorganized.
sleep-inducing
(sleep-in-DOOS-ing)
ADJECTIVE: Something that causes sleep; soporific.
sleepy
(SLEE-pee)
ADJECTIVE: Wanting to go to sleep; drowsy.
slipshod
(SLIP-shod)
ADJECTIVE: Sloppy; careless; slapdash.
The kitchen had a SLIPSHOD appearance; the sink was piled high with dishes, the floor was covered with papers and food, and the oven was open.
slog
(slog)
VERB: Trudge; to work at something for a long time with few results.
slothful
(SLAWTH-fuhl)
ADJECTIVE: Lazy; showing a disinclination to work or exertion.
slouch
(slouch)
VERB: To stand in a nonupright, drooping fashion; as a noun, a slouch is someone who does not care to do something well, a loafer.
When you SLOUCH like that, you wrinkle your clothes and ruin your posture.
slowcoach
(SLOH-kohch)
NOUN: Someone who moves very slowly; a laggard.
slowgoing
(SLOH-GOH-ing)
ADJECTIVE: Happening at a slow pace.
slowness
(SLOH-nis)
NOUN: Characterized by being slow; laggardness.
slowpoke
(SLOH-pohk)
NOUN: Someone who moves very slowly; slowcoach.
slug
(sluhg)
NOUN: A slow-moving mollusk or a person who behaves in a similarly “sluggish” manner.
slugabed
(SLUHG-uh-bed)
NOUN: A person who likes to sleep in past a normal hour.
Henrietta was such a SLUGABED that she would still be sleeping hours after we had all had our breakfast.
sluggard
(SLUHG-erd)
NOUN: One who avoids work and other responsibilities.
sluggish
(SLUHG-ish)
ADJECTIVE: Slow-moving; lethargic and listless.
slumberland
(SLUHM-ber-land)
NOUN: The imaginary place kids are told they visit when they fall asleep.
slumberous
(SLUHM-ber-uhs)
ADJECTIVE: Drowsiness; sleepiness.
snooze
(snooz)
NOUN: A short nap; used as a verb it means to take a short nap.
somnambulism
(som-NAM-byuh-liz-uhm)
NOUN: The technical phrase for sleepwalking; noctambulism.
somniferous
(som-NIF-er-uhs)
ADJECTIVE: Having the ability to cause sleepiness.
“I find this conversation SOMNIFEROUS, so I am going to bed,” she sighed.
somnolent
(SOM-nuh-luhnt)
ADJECTIVE: Drowsy or sleepy; quiet.
soporific
(sop-uh-RIF-ik)
ADJECTIVE: Having the ability to cause sleepiness. As a noun, it refers to the thing that causes sleepiness—like a drug.
spiritless
(SPIR-it-lis)
ADJECTIVE: Lacking courage or vitality.
sponger
(SPUHN-jer)
NOUN: One who lives off of others for all his or her needs; freeloader.
squander
(SKWON-der)
VERB: To waste something in an extravagant manner.
He was known to SQUANDER their modest income on elaborate meals and entertainment.
stagnation
(stag-NAY-shuhn)
NOUN: A cessation in movement or activity; stasis.
standstill
(STAND-stil)
NOUN: A point in time at which all movement and activity stops.
The afternoon was at a STANDSTILL as we all were lulled into a heavy sleep with our full bellies.
stasis
(STAY-SIS)
NOUN: A state during which there is no movement, development, or progression; in science, this can be the result of two forces balancing each other 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.
—ANTON CHEKHOV
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.
—WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
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.
—JOSEPH CONRAD
(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; informally, it is used to refer to an uncouth, unmannered person or hermit.
Jean-Luc the TROGLODYTE once had excellent manners and social skills, but years of living alone stripped those away.
truant
(TROO-uhnt)
ADJECTIVE: Avoiding one’s responsibilities without a valid reason; as a noun, it is used in reference to one who shirks his or her duties.
twiddle
(TWID-l)
VERB: To fiddle with something; the word is often used in relation to one’s fingers.
U
unaffected
(uhn-uh-FEK-tid)
ADJECTIVE: Not affected by something in any way; unchanged.
unambitious
(uhn-am-BISH-uhs)
ADJECTIVE: Lack of ambition; unmotivated.
unavailing
(uhn-uh-VAY-ling)
ADJECTIVE: Not achieving a desired outcome; futile.
unbusied
(uhn-BIZ-eed)
ADJECTIVE: Not busy; idle.
Because she avoided so many commitments and responsibilities, after a while her days were completely UNBUSIED and empty.
uncircumspect
(uhn-SUR-kuhm-spekt)
ADJECTIVE: Acting without considering the consequences; careless.
unconcern
(uhn-kuhn-SERN)
NOUN: A lack of concern or regard; indifference.
uncurious
(uhn-KYOOR-ee-uhs)
ADJECTIVE: A lack of curiosity; apathetic.
undemonstrative
(uhn-duh-MON-struh-tiv)
ADJECTIVE: Not able to show expression; impassive.
undesirable
(uhn-di-ZYUHR-uh-buhl)
ADJECTIVE: Unwelcome or unwanted; can also be used as a noun in reference to a person that would be viewed in that way.
undirected
(uhn-di-REK-tid)
ADJECTIVE: Not directed to a specific place or purpose; aimless.
Our walk was UNDIRECTED as we wandered the city after all the shops were closed.
undisposed
(uhn-di-SPOHZD)
ADJECTIVE: Not prone to do something; unwilling.
Although there were parts of being a father that he enjoyed and eagerly participated in, he was entirely UNDISPOSED to changing diapers.
unemotional
(uhn-ih-MOH-shuh-nl)
ADJECTIVE: Without emotion; impassion.