LOW-LIFE Synonyms: 153 Similar and Opposite Words

low-life 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of low-life

as in low

belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank photographs of the low-life residents of postwar Paris

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

lowlife

2 of 2

noun

as in scoundrel

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Dissimilar Words

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 low-life

Adjective

The president can be assured that his low-life actions will eliminate him as a candidate to get to Heaven. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 25 Mar. 2026 Inside, everything was magically transformed into a 1930s Parisian low-life dive. — Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 23 Mar. 2026

Noun

Their search leads them to a local drug lord and a galaxy of lowlifes, all of whom are hiding something. — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Mar. 2026 First seen at a night-club table of menacing lowlifes, Ida, whose mother tongue is Brooklynese, suddenly switches to a heavy British accent and dispenses a torrent of highly literary sarcasms. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for low-life

Recent Examples of Synonyms for low-life

Adjective

Democratic primary voters picked their nominees on Tuesday for three battleground House seats in Virginia that are likely to determine control of the lower chamber in the 2026 midterm elections.

— Sophia Mandt, The Washington Examiner, 5 Aug. 2026
This fuss-free pair has it all—plenty of color choices, comfy low heels, and a sleek, versatile design that will easily match any outfit, especially mini skirts and dresses.

— Isabel Bekele, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of low

Noun

But Roy Cohn—an American scoundrel and the lawyer who helped send Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to the electric chair, aided Senator Joseph McCarthy in implementing the Red Scare, and showed Trump the ropes in the real-estate business—was long gone.

— Kai Bird, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
And the surviving cartel scoundrels take the parting shot by kidnapping beloved Carter, putting a hood on him and taking the boy off.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 3 July 2026

Definition of scoundrel

Adjective

But new research is shedding light on what life was like for middle- and lower-class residents.

— Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
The franchise centers around a dystopian nation called Panem, where rich and authoritarian leaders force twelve lower-class districts to submit two children to fight in a deadly, and televised, battle every year.

— Nicholas Rice, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026

Definition of lower-class

Noun

The first time, Julian’s children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning) seemed like miserable, greedy wretches.

— Brent Lang, Variety, 11 Apr. 2026
The elegant sets and lavish costume designs are stunning, as is Jacob Elordi's multi-faceted performance as the intelligent wretch stitched together from corpses.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 27 Dec. 2025

Definition of wretch

Adjective

Linen and cotton, cooling garments, were too plebeian; the people posed nobly for street-style social-media accounts in leather jackets and low-slung jorts.

— Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 27 June 2026
This one is about a regular old guy, a hedge knight in the plebeian population of Westeros, just trying to get by in a world that isn't kind to the common and poor.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Jan. 2026

Definition of plebeian

Noun

In July, Roku made the city even more interactive with a new brand campaign that guides users to visit six themed areas featuring humorous promo spots, including a pirate ship, a volcano and a villain’s evil lair.

— Pat Saperstein, Variety, 3 Aug. 2026
Still, bonus points for casting Chukwudi Iwuji as the menacing High Evolutionary, one of the oddest and most unsettling Marvel villains in recent memory.

— EW Staff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of villain

Adjective

But West Virginia is a proletarian locale that until not long ago was a Democratic stronghold.

— Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026
These ranged from the aristocratic elite who dominated the military and bureaucracy and yearned for a return to monarchy, to communists who sought proletarian rule, to the National Socialists who wanted to establish a right-wing dictatorship.

— Time, Time, 23 Oct. 2025

Definition of proletarian

Noun

Even though the Feeneys have gotten more competitive under the junior Michel’s management, the rascal-on-the-field ethos of the original team still prevails.

— Christopher Buchanan, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
Not even the curmudgeonly Melvin can bring himself to harm the little rascal.

— Camille Perri, PEOPLE, 10 June 2026

Definition of rascal

Browse Nearby Words

low-level

low-life

lowlife

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Style

“Low-life.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/low-life. Accessed 11 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of low-life

adjective

noun

Example Sentences

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