Is Lazy Adjective, Noun Or Adverb? 5 Facts(When & Examples)

Indolent, inactive, and inert are some of the words that can describe the word “lazy” in the best manner. Let us check if the word “lazy” is an adjective, noun, or adverb.

The word “lazy” belongs to the group of adjectives in the English language. The word “lazy” can not perform the role of an adverb or a noun. The adverbial form of the word “lazy” is “lazily,” while the noun form of the word “lazy” is “laziness.”

Now we will learn some important facts and explanations related to the use of the word “lazy” as an adjective and its use in two other forms as an adverb and a noun.

When is “lazy” an adjective?

An adjective not only modifies the attributes of a noun or noun equivalent but also helps to make comparisons among nouns. Let us see when we can use “lazy” as an adjective.

The word “lazy” can be used as an adjective when we need to delineate the qualitative feature of a noun or noun equivalent. The word “lazy” conveys the meaning of being reluctant or unwilling to make an effort. The delineative quality meant by the adjective “lazy” can be both physical and mental in nature.

Examples of “lazy” as an adjective –

Now we will undergo examples and explanations related to the use of the word “lazy” as an adjective.

Example	Aspect to show	Explanation
1. The book is already done up to the middle, but Robin is too lazy to turn over the pages.	Outlining of singular noun	The unwillingness of the proper singular noun Robin to turn over the pages has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy.”
2. The English syllabus is half done but Sandip and Pijush are too lazy to finish it on time.	Outlining of plural noun	The reluctance of the plural nouns Sandip and Pijush to complete the syllabus has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy”.
3. Sandip always takes time to get ready. He is even too lazy to get ready with the right colour tie.	Outlining of singular pronoun	The reluctance of the singular pronoun he to get ready with the right colour tie has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy.” Here, the pronoun he is referring to is the noun Sandip.
4. We are all going to give a farewell party to Tanu, but we are too lazy to do the decorations and just did the party by blowing out candles and eating cake.	Outlining of plural pronoun	Lack of enthusiasm for the plural pronoun they to do the decorations has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy.
5. We can mark the cute little dog as lazy because it is too weak to even walk or play.	Outlining of singular noun phrase	The coyness of the singular noun phrase, the cute little dog to walk or play with, has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy.”
6. We must carry those little cute puppies in our arms as they are too tiny to be stable on their feet.	Outlining of plural noun phrase	The coyness of the plural noun phrase “little cute puppies” to be stable on their feet has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy.”
7. You are as lazy as me regarding making some supplementary notes from the library books.	To mark the similarity	The similarity between the speaker and the addressed person regarding less interest in making some supplementary notes from the library books has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy”.
8. You are lazier than me regarding making some supplementary notes from the library books.	To show the comparison	A comparison between the speaker and the addressed person regarding less interest in making some supplementary notes from the library books has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy”.
9. You are the laziest in the whole batch of 1^st year regarding making some supplementary notes from the library books.	To show the superiority	The superiority of the addressed person regarding reluctance to make some supplementary notes from the library books has been shown with the help of the adjective “lazy”.

Examples of “lazy” as an adjective

Is “lazy” a descriptive adjective?

Descriptive adjectives are mainly used for describing any qualitative feature of any noun or noun equivalent. Let us check if the word “lazy” is a descriptive adjective or not.

The adjective “lazy” belongs to the category of descriptive adjectives as it is mainly used to describe the physical slothfulness or mental loathness of a noun or noun equivalent. It depicts the meaning of being reluctant to work or perform.

Purpose of using the descriptive adjective has been given below along with related example and explanations.

Aspect to show	Example	Explanation
The descriptive adjective “lazy” can be used to describe a person who has the ability to perform a service but is reluctant to do so.	Robin is so lazy that he does not even want to go to the kitchen to have his cup of tea. Instead, he asks his father to do the same.	The adjective “lazy” can be certainly marked as a descriptive adjective as it is in use to describe the reluctance of Robin, who does not even want to go to the kitchen to have a cup of tea, though he has all the strength to do so.

Example of “lazy” as a descriptive adjective

Is “lazy” a noun?

The word “lazy” does not only refer to a person who is physically lazy but also to a mentally slothful person. Let us check if the word “lazy” can play the role of a noun or not.

We can not use the word “lazy” as a noun in parts of speech as the noun form of the word “lazy” is “laziness”. There is a need to add the suffix +ness to the root form “lazy” to frame the noun form “laziness”.

Here is an aspect of the noun “laziness” with related examples and explanations.

Usage of the noun “laziness”	Example	Explanation
unwillingness to perform a task.	I do not believe in laziness while I am about to perform my official duty on time.	The word “laziness” in this example can be certainly marked as a noun, as the noun “laziness” conveys the meaning that the speaker is a person who does not like to show lethargy when performing official work on time.

Usage of the noun “laziness”

Is “lazy” an adverb?

Most of the time, the addition of some suffixes to the root word becomes mandatory to create an adverbial form. Let us check if the word “lazy” is an adverb or not.

We can not use the word “lazy” as an adverb because the word “lazy” is an adjective while “lazily” is the adverbial form of the word “lazy”. There is a particular meaning that the word “lazily” serves in parts of speech as an adverbial form.

Now, we will learn the application of the adverbial form “lazily” along with a related explanation.

Usage of the adverbial form “lazily”	Example	Explanation
In an indolent manner or slackly.	You must not cut the vegetables lazily as I am in a hurry to cook the food for the children.	We can mark the word “lazily” as an adverb as it is in use to modify the activity of cutting vegetables in the sentence.

Usage of the adverbial form “lazily”

Conclusion –

We can make note of some of the words which we can use to describe the meaning of the word “lazy”, like; laggard, comatose, idle, loafing, slow-moving, supine, etc.

Arpita Bose Roy

Hey! I am Arpita Bose Roy. My qualifications are M.A. in English with B. Ed. in both general education and special education. I have 2 years of experience as a “language analyst” at IIT Kharagpur and 4 years of experience as an “Academic Content Developer” at IIT Kharagpur. Currently, I am working as an academic writer at Lambdageeks.