ne'er-do-well

Noun

Meaning

an idle worthless person

Source: WordNet

Alternative names

ne'er do well

Synonyms

has-been cad bounder loafer idler scalawag lout punk do-nothing sluggard lazybones couch potato slowcoach waster slugabed
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Antonyms

first lady fighter medalist smash hit eager beaver man of action
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Hypernyms

loafer idler bum do-nothing layabout

Examples

George [H. W. Bush] brought his ne'er-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the political one who lives in Florida. The one who hangs around here all the time looking shiftless. This so-called kid is already almost 40 and has never had a real job. Ronald Reagan

He that fights for a ne'er-do-well has nothing to show for it except a head covered in earth and grime. African Proverb

A ne'er-do-well who was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities, citation Villon wrote about some of these experiences in his poems. Source: Internet

Sincerely yours, Jack London Jan. 13, 1909sfn Furthermore, in his short story "By The Turtles of Tasman", a character, defending her ne'er-do-well grasshopperish father to her antlike uncle, says: ".. Source: Internet

Close letter words and terms

ne exeat ne plus ultra ne'er ne. ne1 NEA