idly

adverb

ˈī-dᵊl-ē 

ˈīd-lē

: in an idle manner: such as

a

: without much thought, effort or attention

idly staring out the window

idly flipping from one channel to another

Harry … doodled idly on his parchment ignoring Hermione's frequent glares and nudges …

—J. K. Rowling

b

: in a lazy or inactive manner or state

sat with her hands resting idly in her lap

spent the day lying idly on the couch

Barber left London the next day, and for six months sat idly in Addis Ababa waiting for something to happen.

—Waverly Root

c

: without taking any action

"The time has come to speak," she said. "I cannot stand idly by [=do nothing] and see a young man going to perdition!"

—P. G. Wodehouse

… a party who has been wronged by a breach of contract may not unreasonably sit idly by and allow damages to accumulate.

—John D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo

Examples of idly in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Solving For Success Today’s CFOs can’t sit idly by, waiting for the IT department to deliver trustworthy data. —Melanie Payne, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024

And then … karma, who isn’t held off idly or easily, put sand in long snapper Tyler Ott’s arms and threw off the timing of what most of us think is the easiest thing to do on a football field: kick an extra point. —David Aldridge, The Athletic, 24 Nov. 2024

But then Nagorno-Karabakh was seized by Baku in December 2022 and following a nine-month blockade over 100,000 Armenians were forcibly expelled, during which those Russian peacekeepers stood idly by. —Charlie Campbell / Yerevan, TIME, 22 Oct. 2024

Typically at this point of the season, the Broncos are killing the vibe, standing idly with their hands in their pockets, taking up space. —Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing idly

• sit idly by
• stand idly by