--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ennui is the enemy." description: "\"“Ennui is the enemy.”\" — Oscar Wilde" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg" --- # Ennui is the enemy. ![“Ennui is the enemy.” quote by Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg) > ““Ennui is the enemy.”” [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Boredom is an adversary that must be opposed. **In simple terms:** Ennui is the enemy. Key Takeaway Combat boredom with engagement. Themes boredom enemy motivation Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - learning - artistic pursuits - daily routines Key Concepts psychology of apathy creative stimulation Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your boredom? - How can you turn idle time into growth? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex mental states. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Ennui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui/) [Ennui Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ennui-enemy-6131645/) ## Related quotes > [The only horrible thing in the world is ennui.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-only-horrible-thing-in-the-world-is-ennui/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Don't tell me that you have exhausted Life. When a man says that, one knows that life has exhausted him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/don-t-tell-me-that-you-have-exhausted-life-when-a-man-says-that-one/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-am-tired-of-myself-tonight-i-should-like-to-be-somebody-else/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“It seemed to Rosa Lublin that the whole peninsula of Florida was weighted down with regret. Everyone had left behind a real life. Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/it-seemed-to-rosa-lublin-that-the-whole-peninsula-of-florida-was/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [As the gout seems privileged to attack the bodies of the wealthy, so ennui seems to exert a similar prerogative over their minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/as-the-gout-seems-privileged-to-attack-the-bodies-of-the-wealthy-so/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [“She could, she thinks, have entered a different life. She could have had a life as potent and dangerous as literature itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cunningham/she-could-she-thinks-have-entered-a-different-life-she-could-have-had/) [Michael Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cunningham/) > [Life creates itself in delirium and is undone in ennui.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emile-m-cioran/life-creates-itself-in-delirium-and-is-undone-in-ennui/) [Emile M. Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emile-m-cioran/) > [Pain, indolence, sterility, endless ennui have also their lesson for you, if you are great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/pain-indolence-sterility-endless-ennui-have-also-their-lesson-for-you/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“From the time I arrived in British East Africa at the indifferent age of four and went through the barefoot stage of early youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/from-the-time-i-arrived-in-british-east-africa-at-the-indifferent-age/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [You cannot give me an instance of any man who is permitted to lay out his own time contriving not to have tedious hours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-cannot-give-me-an-instance-of-any-man-who-is-permitted-to-lay-out/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Sitting to think of what to write will only set your ass on fire, give you headache, twist your face to look stupid, instead,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/sitting-to-think-of-what-to-write-will-only-set-your-ass-on-fire-give/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [One receives as reward for much ennui, despondency, boredom -such as a solitude without friends, books, duties, passions must bring with it -those quarter-hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/one-receives-as-reward-for-much-ennui-despondency-boredom-such-as-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [To love to read is to exchange hours of ennui for hours of delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-love-to-read-is-to-exchange-hours-of-ennui-for-hours-of-delight/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the aftermath of 9/11, people had not a good time, but a deep, profound, rousing time, woke up from their ennui and isolation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/in-the-aftermath-of-9-11-people-had-not-a-good-time-but-a-deep/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) ## More by Oscar Wilde > [How else but through a broken heart may Lord Christ enter in?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/how-else-but-through-a-broken-heart-may-lord-christ-enter-in/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/the-books-that-the-world-calls-immoral-are-the-books-that-show-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/bachelors-should-be-heavily-taxed-it-is-not-fair-that-some-men-should/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Basil my dear boy puts everything that is charming in him into his work. The consequence is that he has nothing left for life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/basil-my-dear-boy-puts-everything-that-is-charming-in-him-into-his/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Anybody can be good in the country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/anybody-can-be-good-in-the-country/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-don-t-at-all-like-knowing-what-people-say-of-me-behind-my-back-it/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Alles Populäre ist falsch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/alles-popul-re-ist-falsch/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“If these elements of beauty are real, the whole thing simply appeals to our sense of dramatic effect. Suddenly we find that we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/if-these-elements-of-beauty-are-real-the-whole-thing-simply-appeals/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [To love one's self is the beginning of a life-long romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/to-love-one-s-self-is-the-beginning-of-a-life-long-romance/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [“Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/those-who-find-beautiful-meanings-in-beautiful-things-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Men always want to be a womans first love. Women have a more subtle instinct: What they like is to be a mans last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/men-always-want-to-be-a-womans-first-love-women-have-a-more-subtle/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Why is it that at a bachelor's establishment the servants invariably drink the champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/why-is-it-that-at-a-bachelor-s-establishment-the-servants-invariably/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Moderation is a fatal thing. Enough is as bad as a meal. More than enough is as good as a feast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/moderation-is-a-fatal-thing-enough-is-as-bad-as-a-meal-more-than/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/beauty-is-the-only-thing-that-time-cannot-harm-philosophies-fall-away/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) [Explore all 3,343 Oscar Wilde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) ## More Enemy quotes > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one, to surround him; if five to one, to attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/it-is-the-rule-in-war-if-our-forces-are-ten-to-the-enemy-s-one-to/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Fear is a man's worst enemy, but love is a man's most powerful weapon against anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-a-man-s-worst-enemy-but-love-is-a-man-s-most-powerful-weapon/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surprise of an army is now next to an impossibility. ... Prearranged surprises are rare and difficult because in order to plan one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-henri-jomini/the-surprise-of-an-army-is-now-next-to-an-impossibility-prearranged/) [Antoine-Henri Jomini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-henri-jomini/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) [A.K. Hasan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-k-hasan/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [Pain held no terror for him. Pain was, if not friend, then family, something he had grown up with in his crèche, learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/pain-held-no-terror-for-him-pain-was-if-not-friend-then-family/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [To achieve victory we must mass our forces at the hub of all power & movement. The enemy's 'Center of Gravity'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-achieve-victory-we-must-mass-our-forces-at-the-hub-of-all-power/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Perfection is the enemy of greatness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/perfection-is-the-enemy-of-greatness/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-rickenbacker/in-this-business-you-find-the-enemy-then-go-after-and-destroy-him/) [Eddie Rickenbacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-rickenbacker/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) [Browse all 7,981 Enemy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ennui is the enemy.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Oscar Wilde" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ennui-is-the-enemy/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Enemy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ennui-is-the-enemy/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e0/oscar-wilde-16_enemy_ennui-is-the-enemy-800789_800789.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ennui is the enemy.” — Oscar Wilde", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Oscar Wilde", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ennui is the enemy.”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ennui-is-the-enemy/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/ennui-is-the-enemy/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```