Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
do-little approach

do-little approach

8.2
A way of acting that uses little effort
  • noun
: enfoque de no hacer nada
  • Politicians criticized the mayor for taking a do-little approach to public safety.

Examples

  • Instead of facing the issue, he adopted a do-little approach and hoped it would resolve itself.

  • The CEO's do-little approach let problems escalate until they were out of control.

  • The government adopted a do-little approach to environmental issues.

  • Many critics argue that a do-little approach is ineffective.

  • Many critics argue that a do-little approach is ineffective in solving community problems.

  • The CEO's do-little approach allowed the company's financial issues to worsen over time.

  • After years of a do-little approach, the city finally took action to improve local infrastructure.

Synonyms

do-nothing
vsdo-little approach
11 7.5

Not willing or able to take action

involves minimal intervention rather than total refusal to act
minimalist
vsdo-little approach
3 6.3

Favoring only small political changes

is a general low-effort approach rather than an ideological reform position
perfunctoriness
vsdo-little approach
1 9.9

A lack of interest or care when doing something

focuses on doing less as a policy rather than showing low interest
laxism
vsdo-little approach
1 9.9

Not being strict about rules or what is right and wrong

focuses on making minimal interventions rather than relaxing rules
do-little attitude
vsdo-little approach
8.2

A habit of not trying hard and avoiding work

is a policy-level choice to act with minimal intervention
ostrich policy
vsdo-little approach
8.8

To ignore problems instead of trying to fix them

is a restrained action choice, not simply deliberate denial of issues

Antonyms

involvement
393 2.9

Taking part in an activity, group, or discussion

How Active

action
∞ 1.3
interventionism
  • Specialized
7.2
laissez-faire
  • Formal
9 8.7
do-little approach
8.2

Surface Forms

do-little approach singular
do-little approaches plural

Morphology

do-little + approach

The phrase is directly compositional: 'do-little' literally means to 'do little' (perform minimal action) and 'approach' means a method, so the overall meaning 'a policy of minimal intervention' is derivable from the constituents. The hyphenated adjective + noun pattern is a regular English formation and is cross-linguistically obvious, so a B1 learner who knows 'do', 'little', and 'approach' should understand it.

Etymology

Do-little approach comes from the simple picture of someone who does very little, taking only tiny actions or avoiding work. So, it means a way of acting or a policy of 'making minimal effort' or 'not taking action'.