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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Idly

He wondered idly what would happen.

What is the meaning of "idly" in the sentence above?
  

Top answer

for no reason at all

  • for no reason at all
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5 Answers
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for no reason at all
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Thanks, Clive. how did you know it didn't mean to "do nothing"? I had a look in the dictionary before I put my post up but I couldn't work out which meaning applied.
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He wasn't 'doing nothing'. He was wondering., which is a mental action.

Clive
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Thanks. Clive.

What about in this context? "She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink."

Does it mean she sat in the sun, sipping a cool drink for no reason at all?
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That doesn't sound wrong to me.

In this case, I think there is also a suggestion of laziness/sloth.

Clive

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