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shirker

shirker

1 8.0
A person who avoids work or responsibility, often by making excuses
  • noun
  • /ˈʃɜrkər/
translation icon : perezoso
  • During the group project, one member turned out to be a shirker, leaving the others to do all the work.

Examples

  • The cowards and shirkers are long gone.

  • Our mother didn't raise no shirkers.

  • Southard had already deserted the regiment once; he was a shirker.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Trade sanctions are perhaps the most powerful multilateral inducement that can be applied to shirkers, short of military force.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Several so-called Confederates Winston met in Canada were shirkers, men who had come north to avoid the war.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • To hear a member of the shirker branch of our government blame the Fed for not doing enough would be laughable if we weren't living with the consequences of the shirking.

    Blog text (23)
  • The manager was frustrated by the shirker who never completed his tasks.

  • In the military, a shirker is someone who intentionally avoids their service responsibilities.

Synonyms

slacker
vsshirker
  • Offensive
33 4.6

A person who avoids work and often does very little

is deliberate avoidance by choice rather than general habitual laziness
dodger
vsshirker
20 7.9

A person who avoids duties and rules by lying or tricking others

avoids duties generally not necessarily by trickery or dishonesty
do-nothing
vsshirker
  • Offensive
9 7.0

A person who avoids work and makes little effort

is deliberate avoidance of responsibility rather than total inactivity
loafer
vsshirker
  • Offensive
5 5.8

A person who avoids work and does very little

is deliberate avoidance of duty rather than casual lazy behavior
idler
vsshirker
  • Offensive
2 7.0

A person who avoids work and does very little

is deliberate avoidance of duties rather than an ongoing lazy habit
malingerer
vsshirker
  • Formal
2 8.9

A person who pretends to be ill to avoid work

is deliberate avoidance without necessarily faking illness
goof-off
vsshirker
  • Informal
2 8.6

A person who avoids work and wastes time

is deliberate avoidance of duties rather than mere time wasting
goldbricker
vsshirker
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who avoids work by pretending to be busy

is general deliberate avoidance rather than specific excuse making
goldbrick
vsshirker
  • Offensive
1 9.6

A person who avoids work by pretending to be busy

is broader deliberate avoidance not only about excuses
artful dodger
vsshirker
1 8.5

A person who uses tricks to avoid work or blame

is broader deliberate avoidance not defined by clever deceit
lazybones
vsshirker
  • Offensive
1 7.2

A person who avoids work and prefers to rest

is deliberate avoidance by choice rather than general lazy character
bludger
vsshirker
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who avoids work and does very little

is the neutral word for deliberate avoidance rather than slang
scrimshanker
vsshirker
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who avoids work

is the same meaning expressed in a different form
skulker
vsshirker
9.1

A person who avoids work by pretending to be ill

is general deliberate avoidance rather than hiding or feigning
todger dodger
vsshirker
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who avoids work or duties by making excuses

is the neutral deliberate avoidance term rather than informal slang
ditcher
vsshirker
  • Informal
7.2

A person who often misses school or work on purpose

is deliberate avoidance more generally not only by skipping events
piddler
vsshirker
  • Informal
9.7

A person who wastes time on small unimportant tasks instead of doing useful work

is avoidance of important work not just occasional small tasks

Antonyms

33 1.3

A person who puts a lot of effort into their job or tasks

How Avoidant

malingerer
  • Formal
2 8.9
shirker
1 8.0
slacker
  • Offensive
33 4.6
idler
  • Offensive
2 7.0
dawdler
1 7.1

Surface Forms

shirker singular
shirkers plural

Morphology

shirker = shirk (transparent) = shirk + er

Standard agentive noun formed from the verb 'shirk' using the productive suffix '-er', meaning 'a person who shirks' is directly predictable.

Etymology

Shirker comes from the verb shirk, which means 'to avoid' or 'move away from' a job or duty. A helpful way to remember it is to think of someone who 'shies away' from work, so a shirker is a person who avoids responsibility.