DEADBEAT Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

deadbeat

noun

ˈded-ˌbēt

Definition of deadbeat

as in slug

a lazy person he snapped instructions to the deadbeats who were standing around watching the work pile up

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of deadbeat Andres was born in Cuba to a deadbeat alcoholic who beat him, according to his attorneys. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 20 Nov. 2025 As half owner of that house, you are entitled to live in it without being berated by a deadbeat. — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 11 Nov. 2025 As half-owner of that house, you are entitled to live in it without being berated by a deadbeat. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 11 Nov. 2025 The world’s biggest deadbeat has passed the begging bowl again. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for deadbeat

Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadbeat

Noun

The iron sights of my new slug barrel came to rest on the target—still more than 60 yards away.

— Don J. Dinndorf, Outdoor Life, 31 Oct. 2026
The Phillies, built on slug and stardom, also began passing the baton.

— Charlotte Varnes, New York Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Definition of slug

Noun

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 493 drones were fired toward the capital.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
Since her 2019 debut, PURGE, which drew from her experiences in the New York and Berlin rave and punk scenes, Chen has been moving toward ever-sharper contrasts between caustic drones and close-mic’d croons.

— James Gui, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of drone

Noun

The tiny snail was first detected in Michigan in 2015 and was previously found in Au Sable, Boardman, Grass, Pere Marquette, Pine and Upper Manistee rivers in Northern Michigan.

— Paula Wethington, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
And those kelp forests are—or were—marvels of diversity, providing a shelter for a wild array of ocean creatures from jeweled top sea snails to barrel-bodied harbor seals.

— Joseph Ogilvy, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of snail

Noun

Zellers poured the foundation, and Morrison hired fellow ski bums to do the framing, masonry, and tiling.

— Nick Paumgarten, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Carl Sandburg’s 1927 American Songbag featured a whole section of hobo songs presenting the bum as a beau ideal.

— Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of bum

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dead

deadbeat

deadbeats

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“Deadbeat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadbeat. Accessed 10 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of deadbeat

noun

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