Ennui
It's boredom, pretty much. A pervasive sense of a lack of purpose in life, perhaps.
So there’s boredom, there’s anhedonia, and then there’s ennui. The first is just the simple boredom we seem to experience as kids, before adulthood kicks in. Anhedonia is probably more indicative of depression or other kind of brain misfire.
Somewhere in the middle sits ennui, that kind of lack of excitement you might feel when you feel despondent, perhaps because there’s nothing to look forward to.
I can’t help you overcome ennui, but perhaps we can spark some excitement by learning the word a little better!
📚️ Definition of Ennui
Ennui (noun): A feeling of listless boredom and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation, excitement, or meaning. Example: the ennui of summer vacation.
🗣️ Pronunciation of Ennui
IPA: /ɑnˈwi/ (See IPA key)
Respelling: ahn-WEE
📰 Examples of Ennui
Here are some examples of the word ennui:
Cinchie realized that she’d filled her life with activities and commitments to stifle a powerful sense of ennui that would start to creep in when she wasn’t working or studying.
Some of literature’s classics explore the ennui of aristocrats who have wealth and leisure but find life empty nevertheless.
“My life has been plagued by a sense of ennui that subsides only at the extremes of emotion, from the darkest days of despair to the fleeting moments of elation.”
All done. Tomorrow’s word is related to poverty, and one that I used to confuse with mendacious.
I'm never bored with this word.