be bothered

See also: bebothered

English

Verb

be bothered (third-person singular simple present is bothered, present participle being bothered, simple past was bothered, past participle been bothered)

1. (chiefly in the negative) To have the enthusiasm (to do something).

   I can't be bothered to clean the house today.

   He can't be bothered drying all those dishes.

   • 1986, Vladimir Naumovich Zharkov, translated by William B. Hubbard, Interior Structure of the Earth and Planets, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 273:

     An egg and rasher of bacon for breakfast supply quite enough nitrogenous food for the day. Sometimes I have a treat. A cauliflower, etc. But generally I can't be bothered.

   • 1991, Raymond Buckland, Scottish Witchcraft: The History and Magick of the Picts, Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 81:

     This takes effort. It can be a lot of work. So, you see, magick is not an easy short-cut to achieving something because you can't be bothered to get it any other way.

   • 1992, Victoria Branden, In Defence of Plain English: The Decline and Fall of Literacy in Canada, Dundurn, →ISBN, page 88:

     I've been using a computer instead of a typewriter for four years now, but I can't speak the language at all. I don't need it, and I can't be bothered unless it's going to be useful. The only kind of mouse I recognize is the four-legged variety, and I can't tell a bit from a byte.

Usage notes

• Normally used with "can't", "couldn't" or "cannot".

Translations

have enthusiasm

• Danish: gide
• Finnish: vaivautua (fi)
• Irish: bí gafa
• Italian: aver voglia (di)
• Pennsylvania German: meinde
• Portuguese: estar animado
• Swedish: palla (sv), orka (sv), idas (sv)