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ennui
[ ahn-wee, ahn-wee; French ahn-nwee ]
noun
- a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom:
The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.
Synonyms: listlessness, languor, lassitude, tedium
ennui
/ ˈɒnwiː; ɑ̃nɥi /
noun
- a feeling of listlessness and general dissatisfaction resulting from lack of activity or excitement
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of ennui1
Example Sentences
Overall, Twentysomethings is maybe the tidiest portrayal of millennial ennui I’ve seen on television in a while.
Like the original settlers, my mother and her peers journeyed west expecting to find themselves—or at the very least, freedom from the suburban ennui of middle-class Midwestern life.
Bored teenagers dealing with the world at large may have more devices in-hand now, but that tumult of emotions and ennui remains the same.
We meet characters who are going about their days and feeling, you know, normal levels of ennui.
Historically, with the possible exception of cars, Americans have approached made-in-America shopping with a large degree of ennui.
Consumed and eventually disgorged, Pierre is restored to his loving parents, his ennui banished.
The Great American Novel became more concerned with sexual shenanigans and suburban ennui, or rehashing World War II.
Even with all her comforts and a constant, tugging ennui, Mei knows the risks that she faces as an ernai.
The shenanigans of Intimacy will shake any jaded theater fan from nudity ennui.
Gabe tried to kick his postmodern, adolescent sense of ennui (a “lame” feeling) through members of the opposite sex (“dames”).
It was not a condition of life which fitted her, and she could see in it but an appalling and hopeless ennui.
It combats ennui, lassitude, and intolerable vacuity, soothing the nerves and diverting attention from self.
The sight of them not only fills me with ennui, but I have no intention of presenting your comic papers with material.
She's handsome yet, but her muscles are getting that loose look and her eyes are bottomless pits of ennui.
Ennui is a word one hears constantly; if it rains toute le monde est triste.
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More About Ennui
What does ennui mean?
Put simply, ennui is a French word that describes feelings associated with boredom.
Where does ennui come from?
The word ennui comes from an old French word meaning “profound sadness, chagrin, or disgust.” Among French speakers, ennui can also refer to “disagreeableness.” It comes from a Latin word that also gives us the word annoy.
English borrowed ennui by the 1660s to express a “weary boredom” that results from dissatisfaction or idleness. A 1778 definition of bore describes it as a “thing which causes ennui or annoyance.”
Like in French, ennui became used in English to describe a feeling of discontent almost as if it was an actual object. It usually has a kind of wistful listlessness.
How is ennui used in real life?
Ennui, as a fancy word for “boredom,” implies discontent and angst. It is often used as if a person were describing an illness, as in “I’m suffering from ennui.” It’s a tricky word to define in English—probably because it comes from French.
Hi I'm Stu and I have PTSD that leads to bouts of depression and ennui. Tonight is one of those nights. You're not alone in your feelings. We are all in this together.
— Wombat Medic (@CallMeCookie) October 1, 2018
Ennui remains associated with a kind of existential emotion and can be used for melodramatic effect.
Cilantro divides us. But can we not understand that all good has become something that is attached to both ennui and anger- why don’t we simply accept one another’s cilantro preference and then work towards a centrist peanut butter driven economy?
— t.j. miller (@nottjmiller) October 1, 2018
More examples of ennui:
“The prospect of being with your significant other forever. Does it sound like eternal bliss? Or a recipe for soul-crushing ennui?”
—Brad Newsome, The Sydney Morning Herald, September, 2018
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
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