do-nothings

noun

plural of do-nothing
1
as in slugs
a lazy person the new boss quickly figured out who the do-nothings were and fired them

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bums
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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for do-nothings
  1. slugs
  2. bums
  3. drones
  4. derelicts
  5. snails
  6. beggars
  7. deadbeats
  8. hoboes
Noun
  • If your garden has been beset by destructive crawling insects like ants, beetles, and slugs, pesticides often seem like the clear solution.
    — Abby Monteil, The Spruce, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Baking soda can help prevent powdery mildew, kill weeds, repel slugs, and clean produce, but must be used sparingly.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 July 2026
Definition of slugs
Noun
  • The Coliseum stayed in business for 500 years, bums in seats twice a week, watching people hack each other to death.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • History buffs, avid hikers, music lovers, wine aficionados, and beach bums will all find a town to love in the Old Dominion.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 9 May 2026
Definition of bums
Noun
  • There’s not a whole lot that can be done to harden them against bombs and drones.
    — David Goldman, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Kuwait said on Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country's north.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of drones
Noun
  • Rational fears or no, the fact remains that the 24 acres of Bayfront Park belong right now to a few misfits and derelicts.
    — Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 27 Mar. 2026
Definition of derelicts
Noun
  • The lubricating substance allows snails to stick to the ground more easily and travel more smoothly.
    — Laura Dorwart, Health, 22 July 2026
  • But SpongeBob is just as unambiguously heroic as Damon’s Odysseus is (even if our favorite burger-flipping tamer of snails requires a gift from a certain daughter of a goddess to find his courage).
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 21 July 2026
Definition of snails
Noun
  • 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
  • The War In times of peace, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) had hosted parties in their palace for all — even beggars were welcome.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 July 2026
Definition of beggars
Noun
  • Housing prices and rents are inflated by restrictive zoning laws, union work and pay scale mandates, excessive building codes and environmental requirements, litigation and planning process delays, anti-landlord policies that favor deadbeats and squatters, and the list goes on.
    — Adam B. Summers, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026
Definition of deadbeats
Noun
  • The former, in which Burnett and Hamilton did a song-and-dance routine as Dust Bowl-era hobos, marked the first of several times that the two performed together.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
  • From oversized, slouchy hobos to structured East-West silhouettes and laptop-ready work totes, this season’s best suede bags deliver a luxurious polish that will elevate every fall wardrobe.
    — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2025
Definition of hoboes
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.

Browse Nearby Words

do-nothing
do-nothings
Don Quixote
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Cite this Entry

“Do-nothings.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/do-nothings. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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