doldrum

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A slothful or stupid person.

Register: slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

Were there no "tears and miseries," when the half-witted doldrums, thinking they were not big enough to be seen, put themselves on horseback, to bask and frolic in a procession, and meet their man-midwife, or surgeon, or whatever he is, who had left his business at Norwich, to go to London, for the

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “doldrum” mean?

A slothful or stupid person.

Is “doldrum” formal or informal?

doldrum is generally slang.