Boredom

Bored street vendor waiting for customers.

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Emotions
Acceptance Affection Amusement Anger Angst Anguish Annoyance Anticipation Anxiety Apathy Arousal Awe Boredom Confidence Contentment Courage Cruelty Curiosity Depression Desire Despair Disappointment Disgust Distrust Ecstasy Embarrassment Empathy Enthusiasm Envy Euphoria Excitement Fear Frustration Gratification Gratitude Greed Grief Guilt Happiness Hatred Horror Hostility Humiliation Interest Jealousy Kindness Loneliness Love Lust Nostalgia Outrage Panic Passion Pity Pleasure Pride Rage Regret Rejection Remorse Resentment Sadness Saudade Schadenfreude Self-confidence Shame Shock Shyness Social connection Sorrow Suffering Surprise Trust Wonder Worry

Boredom is an emotional state that comes when a person has nothing to do, and is not interested in anything. To stop boredom, most people do something to occupy or amuse themselves.

The first known use of the word boredom is in the novel Bleak House by Charles Dickens, written in 1852, but the saying to be a bore had been used to mean "to be tiresome or dull" since 1768.

Psychologically, boredom is a bad state in which the person feels a deep lack of interest in what is going on around them, and where it is hard to focus.

Boredom Media

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  A souvenir seller appears bored as she waits for customers

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  Boredom by Gaston de La Touche, 1893

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  Bored young girl.

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  1916 Rea Irvin illustration depicting a bore putting her audience to sleep

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  The Princess Who Never Smiled by Viktor Vasnetsov

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  A superfluous man (Eugene Onegin) idly polishing his fingernails. Illustration by Elena Samokysh-Sudkovskaya, 1908.