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Glite Dictionary
🛋️ Inactive or passive 😴 An idle person
do-nothing

do-nothing

9 7.5
Not willing or able to take action
  • adjective
  • /duːˈnʌθɪŋ/
translation icon : ineficaz
  • And the consequences of your apathetic, do-nothing approach would have been what?
  • do-nothing Congress
  • do-nothing Republican
  • do-nothing Democrats

Examples

  • No matter who the President is, he can't do much without Congress, and we have a do-nothing Congress.

    Blog text (19)

  • Jack, how do we get anything done with a do-nothing Congress?

    Blog text (19)

  • Obama will do nothing significant to stop Iran from getting nuclear bombs.

    2016: Obama's America (2012)

  • The House delivered trying to move the country on, but the do-nothing Senate never passed anything.

    Blog text (5)

  • We have been content to see the steady demise of agriculture and have maintained a do-nothing attitude.

    Blog text (16)

  • Many employees believe that their manager is a do-nothing who avoids making decisions.

  • The committee's do-nothing attitude left the important issues unresolved for months.

  • Voters are frustrated with do-nothing politicians who fail to act on critical problems.

Synonyms

derelict
vsdo-nothing
  • Formal
8 7.7

Not doing a duty that someone should do

is inactive or unwilling rather than specifically neglecting formal duties

Antonyms

active
664 1.0

Operating now and not stopped

engaged
3.4

Giving full attention to an activity or idea

How Active

proactive
68 4.6
active
8 5.6
reluctant
247 3.5
do-nothing
9 7.5
inert
7 5.5

Surface Forms

do-nothing positive

Morphology

do-nothing = do + nothing (transparent) = do + nothing

The adjective is formed by using the compound 'do-nothing' attributively to describe someone or something that does nothing; the relation to the components is direct.

Etymology

The adjective do-nothing also comes from do ('to act') and nothing ('no thing'), so calling a person or group do-nothing says they 'do nothing', which means they are inactive or do not take responsibility.