ennui

[ahn-wee, ahn-wee; French ahn-nwee] /ɑnˈwi, ˈɑn wi; French ɑ̃ˈnwi/

noun

a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom:

The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui.

Origin

1660-70; < French: boredom; Old French enui displeasure; see annoy

Synonyms

listlessness, tedium, lassitude, languor.

Examples from the web for ennui

Sometimes a change of scene isn't enough to ease urban ennui.
And nothing kills ennui dead better than the Pixies.
There is anger in some quarters, ennui in others.
The ennui induced by persistent solicitations to join new social networks.
Even those few who have some redeeming qualities can not save themselves from an all-pervading gloom of ennui.
And for all its cool ennui, the band's sly neo-retro garage rock radiates surprising warmth and romance.
Gossip, like ennui, is born of idleness.
He was consumed with ennui.
He's very social and made friends, but it was like eternal ennui had set in.
True philosophy raises us above grandeur, but nothing can raise us above the ennui which it causes.

British Dictionary definitions for ennui

ennui

/ˈɒnwiː; French ɑ̃nɥi/

noun

a feeling of listlessness and general dissatisfaction resulting from lack of activity or excitement

Word Origin

C18: from French: apathy, from Old French enui annoyance, vexation; see annoy

Word Origin and History for ennui

1660s as a French word in English; nativized by 1758; from French ennui, from Old French enui "annoyance" (13c.), back-formation from enuier (see annoy). Hence ennuyé "afflicted with ennui;" ennuyée a woman so afflicted.

So far as frequency of use is concerned, the word might be regarded as fully naturalized; but the pronunciation has not been anglicized, there being in fact no Eng. analogy which could serve as a guide. [OED]