acedia
(əˈsiːdɪə)
[L.: see acedy.]
Sloth, torpor, = accidie: esp. as a condition leading to listlessness and want of interest in life.
| 1607 R. Parker Schol. Disc. agst. Antichrist ii. 74 The ceremonies..offende the ministers and the Pastors... Many of these are brought to an Acedia by them. 1922 W. R. Inge Outspoken Ess. 149 The medieval casuists classified acedia, which is just this temper, among the seven deadly sins. 1927 Auden & C. Day Lewis in Oxf. Poetry, p. v, That acedia and unabashed glorification of the subjective so prominent in the world since the Reformation. 1950 A. Huxley Themes & Var. 202 To acedia and confusion, to nightmare and angst, to incomprehension and panic bewilderment. |