ne'er-do-well
5
9.9
- noun
- /ˈnɛrˌduːˈwɛl/
- Offensive
:
vago
- Everyone in the town knew him as the local ne'er-do-well who never held down a job.
- ne'er-do-well brother
- bunch of ne'er-do-wells
- ne'er-do-well friend
You can start it externally by having some local ne'er do wells help out.
- You can start it externally by having some local ne'er do wells help out.
Examples
-
In a neighbourhood of hoodlums and ne'er-do-wells.
-
Once upon a time, there was a good-for-nothing, drunken, young ne'er-do-well, a bit like me.
-
We found these ne'er-do-wells in the garden, my queen.
-
If you have any information on these ne'er-do-wells, please contact your local authorities.
-
Most believe those sorts of decisions should not be left up to the ne'er-do-wells in Washington.
Blog text (21) -
The father, I understand, was a bit of a ne'er-do-well, the Benedictine said.
Fiction book (2002) -
Back then, they would've called a guy like him a ne'er-do-well.
-
Somehow, their old ne'er-do-well friend has managed to do quite well, and it amazes them.
Fiction book (1993) -
Bounty hunters, smugglers, frontier doctors, and ne'er-do-well scoundrels are all represented in this book.
Blog text (1) -
She ran away with a penniless ne'er-do-well to New Providence, a pirate's lair in the Bahamas.
Fiction book (1995)
Synonyms
142
7.2
A lazy person who others dislike for not working
16
7.1
A person who is lazy and does nothing useful
9
7.0
A person who avoids work and makes little effort
7
8.6
A person who often fails to do things well
6
4.6
A person who is not able to do a job or task well
5
5.8
A person who avoids work and does very little
3
3.7
A person who does not have the skills or ability to do a task well
2
7.0
A person who avoids work and does very little
2
8.9
A person who does not keep a steady job
2
8.6
A person who avoids work and wastes time
1
7.2
A person who avoids work and prefers to rest
1
9.6
A person who avoids work by pretending to be busy
1
4.2
A person who often fails to reach their goals
1
7.6
A person who often fails and is not taken seriously
A person who is very lazy and not responsible
A person others think is useless and not successful
A person who does little work and is not useful
A person who does less well than expected for their abilities
Antonyms
How Responsible
- Offensive
5
9.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Ne'er-do-well comes from the short form ne'er, which is never, plus the phrase do well, so it literally means 'never does well'. That's why it describes a person who will not succeed or who is lazy and irresponsible.