English Explanatory Dictionary

ennui

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A gripping listlessness or melancholia caused by boredom; depression.
verb
  1. To make bored or listless; to weary.

Pronunciation

/ɒnˈwiː/ /ɑnˈwi/ en-us-ennui.ogg

Word forms

ennui ennuis ennuying ennuied ennuyed

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Italic *en Proto-Italic *en- Latin in- Proto-Indo-European *h₃ed-der. Proto-Italic *odjom Latin odium Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Late Latin inodiāre Old French enuier? Old French enui French ennuiubor. English ennui Unadapted borrowing from French ennui, from Old French enui (“annoyance”), from enuier (modern French ennuyer), from Late Latin inodiō, from Latin in odiō (“hated”). Doublet of annoy.

Synonyms

acedia Weltschmerz boredom
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