What is the meaning of otiose?

adjective

  • Serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being.
    • usage: "otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words"; "a pointless remark"; "a life essentially purposeless"; "senseless violence"
  • Producing no result or effect.
    • usage: "a futile effort"; "the therapy was ineffectual"; "an otiose undertaking"; "an unavailing attempt"
  • Disinclined to work or exertion.
    • usage: "faineant kings under whose rule the country languished"; "an indolent hanger-on"; "too lazy to wash the dishes"; "shiftless idle youth"; "slothful employees"; "the unemployed are not necessarily work-shy"
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APAWordNet. (2010). otiose. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/otiose/definitions/1180015
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "otiose" http://smartdefine.org/otiose/definitions/1180015 (accessed September 21, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, otiose, Smart Define, viewed 21 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/otiose/definitions/1180015>.
MLAWordNet. "otiose" 23 October 2010. Web. 21 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/otiose/definitions/1180015>
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