lazy
part of speech
adjective (lazy, lazier, laziest)
meaning for a pupil
1) Lazy means not wanting to work, try hard or move about. tree →
2) Lazy also describes something slow and relaxed, without hurry («a lazy Sunday», «a lazy river»). tree →
3) Lazy can describe careless work done with little effort («lazy writing»). tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories lazy characters (like the grasshopper in the fable) often learn a lesson; teachers use it about homework or sloppy answers. In everyday life it can describe a relaxed day. Words like «idle» and «sluggish» are similar; «hard-working» is the opposite. Phrases: «lazy bones», «a lazy afternoon», «lazy eye».
examples
- Don't be lazy; help me tidy up. tree →
- The lazy cat slept in the sun all day. tree →
- We had a lazy Sunday morning in our pyjamas. tree →
- The teacher said my handwriting was lazy. tree →
- We floated down the lazy river at the water park. tree →
- The lazy grasshopper had no food when winter came. tree →
- He is not lazy; he is just tired after training. tree →
- A lazy eye is an eye that does not see as well as the other one. tree →
- Bestir yourself, you lazy old Giant! tree →
note
Comparative «lazier», superlative «laziest»; noun «laziness», adverb «lazily». Calling someone lazy can hurt and is sometimes unfair: a person may be tired, ill or worried. «Lazy eye» is a medical condition, not laziness.
In the corpora
- Real cats do hunt mice, but many well-fed house cats are lazy hunters, and some are even scared of rats.
- That was an old, unkind idea about a whole people, and it is wrong: no people is lazy by nature.
- "lǎnchóng" means lazybones, literally "lazy worm", and parents use it fondly on Sunday mornings.
- "Needs encouragement" on a report usually means the pupil is lazy or unmotivated (does not want to try).
- "Not working to her full potential" is a polite way to say she is lazy.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «lazy» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.