Acedia (Noun)
Meaning
Apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue (personified as one of the deadly sins).
Classification
Nouns denoting acts or actions.
Examples
- As the weeks of solitude dragged on, Acedia began to creep into the young monk's heart, sapping his enthusiasm for prayer and study.
- The theologian argued that Acedia was a uniquely insidious sin, as it often masqueraded as a virtuous humility or detachment from worldly desires.
- In her cell, the nun wrestled with the demon of Acedia, feeling her zeal for good works slowly extinguished by a growing sense of listlessness and disconnection.
- The abbot diagnosed the problem in his community as a case of collective Acedia, a spiritual malaise that had been spreading quietly for months.
- Acedia whispered sweet nothings in the young saint's ear, tempting her to surrender to a comfortable apathy and abandon her life of austerity and self-denial.