shiftless

adjective

shift·​less ˈshif(t)-ləs 

1

: lacking in resourcefulness : inefficient

2

: lacking in ambition or incentive : lazy

shiftless freeloaders

shiftlessly adverb

shiftlessness noun

Synonyms of shiftless

• lazy
• idle

Examples of shiftless in a Sentence

shiftless spongers who never thought to do anything for themselves

Recent Examples on the Web

Why didn’t Tania just get one of her fellow Council wokesters to hire her shiftless, entitled kin? — Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025

After the volunteers slink back to Paddy’s, the most shiftless person on campus will once again be Principal Coleman (Janelle James), whose ineptitude and vanity don’t prevent her from advocating for the students from time to time. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025

Gill’s benevolent steadfastness is supported by his loving, tolerant wife (Shailene Woodley) but mocked by his shiftless brother (a very funny Pete Davidson), who urges him to cash in. — Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023

The filmmaker wrote, directed, shot, edited, and starred in this essentially plotless Super 16 slice-of-life about a shiftless Austin dude who couch surfs across the state. — A.a. Dowd, Chron, 4 Apr. 2023

Expectations of real gains in livelihoods among China’s large, increasingly shiftless rural population will be much harder to fulfill in an era of slower growth. — Scott Rozelle and Matthew Boswell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2022

Their anger focused on a faceless government that neglected people like them and on supposedly shiftless immigrants and minorities who feasted at the public trough. — Helen Epstein, The New York Review of Books, 10 Mar. 2020

Word History

Etymology

shift (resourcefulness)

First Known Use

circa 1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

shiftless

adjective

shift·​less ˈshif(t)-ləs 

: lacking in ambition : lazy

shiftlessly adverb

shiftlessness noun