do-nothing

noun

ˈdü-ˌnə-thiŋ How to pronounce do-nothing (audio)
Definition of do-nothingnext
1
as in slug
a lazy person the new boss quickly figured out who the do-nothings were and fired them

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bum
an idle worthless person he indiscriminately dismisses the state legislators as a bunch of do-nothings who live at the taxpayers' expense

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 do-nothing Is Jack a do-nothing philanderer while Shyanne desperately tries to preserve their five-year romance, or is the truth more complicated than that? — Todd Gilchrist, IndieWire, 7 May 2026 The commission made the right call to delay implementation of Gavin’s do-nothing laws. — Linh Tat, Oc Register, 6 May 2026 Finally, upgrade your couch-rot-and-do-nothing sessions with the TCL 75-inch Class Q6 smart TV, and save 22%. — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 5 May 2026 That makes a strong case for the do-nothing vacation, then, which, in the words of The Washington Post, aligns with wellness rather than laziness. — Alex Ledsom, Forbes.com, 24 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for do-nothing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for do-nothing
  1. slug
  2. bum
  3. drone
  4. beggar
  5. snail
  6. hobo
  7. deadbeat
Noun
  • The live-by-the-slug, die-by-the-slug Dodgers have hit zero home runs in the NLCS.
    — Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • These beneficial predators spend the winter under leaves, emerging in spring to feed on common garden pests such as aphids, slugs and mites.
    — Manjot Kaur Sidhu, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of slug
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
Noun
  • Unlike the composer’s typically massive, sprawling drones, these pieces for pipe organ—accompanied by guitarist Stephen O’Malley and cellist Lucy Railton—are finely filigreed miniatures.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2026
  • Elsewhere, a Russian attack killed three people, including a 13-year-old girl, in the Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia when a drone hit the grounds of a vocational school, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said.
    — HANNA ARHIROVA, Arkansas Online, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of drone
Noun
  • Dhaka’s rundown streets peppered with the homeless, vendors and child beggars.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of beggar
Noun
  • The serum has a lightweight, salmon-pink gel texture that goes on clear, with a slightly slippery consistency that reminds me of snail mucin.
    — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Holed up in her brutalist home in the Swiss alps with her pet snails, she is approached by a handsome young publisher from New York (Alden Ehrenreich) with the impossible task of convincing her to write another book in her Ripley series.
    — Alex Jhamb Burns, Vogue, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of snail
Noun
  • That deal includes handbags, fashion backpacks, hobos, totes, crossbody bags, sling bags, satchels, duffel bags and boot bags, along with belts, wallets, wristlets, passport cases and key chains.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 19 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 hobo
Noun
  • In the film Rap World (which Bensinger also edited), Bensinger, O’Malley, and Rahill play suburban deadbeats eager to make an album, each man waylaid by his own hubris and distractions.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In the fight for the right to be yourself, there are a lot of barriers to being accepted as a female deadbeat.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of deadbeat

Browse Nearby Words

donors
do-nothing
do-nothings
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Cite this Entry

“Do-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/do-nothing. Accessed 4 Nov. 2026.

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