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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

otiose

/ˈoʊ.ʃi.oʊs/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:31
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What does otiose mean?

adjective

  1. Having no effect.
  2. Done in a careless or perfunctory manner.
  3. Reluctant to work or to exert oneself.
More meanings (2)

adjective

  1. Of a person, possessing a bored indolence.
  2. Having no reason for being (raison d’être); having no point, reason, or purpose.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈoʊ.ʃi.oʊs/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

A historian may be a theist; but, so far as his work is concerned, this particular belief is otiose.
A. C. (Albert Charles) SewardDarwin and Modern ScienceProject Gutenberg ebook #1909
Much of it is useful and curious; much merely otiose; and much can only be described as an attempt to impart that which cannot be imparted in words.
Robert Louis StevensonRecords of a Family of EngineersProject Gutenberg ebook #280