listless

Etymology

From Middle English lystles, equivalent to list (“desire”) + -less. Compare German lustlos and Dutch lusteloos (“lethargic, listless”). Doublet of lustless.

adj

1. Lacking energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.
   What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes! 1861, Charlotte M. Yonge, chapter 6, in The Stokesley Secret
   The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened. 1901, William Somerset Maugham, chapter 21, in The Hero
   “Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.” Nov 29 2005, Aryn Baker, “John Hardy: Bali Guy”, in Time