as in low
belonging to the class of people of low social or economic rank
photographs of the low-life residents of postwar Paris
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scoundrel
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of low-life
Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Their father, my grandfather, was a career low-life criminal and was in jail all the time for forgery and conning people.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
That’s where detective Kang Dong-woo, played by Jo Woo-jin, searches for his teen daughter and ultimately enlists help from the lowlife fixer Yoon Gil-ho, played by Ji Chang-wook.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for low-life
Adjective
This low-life is lying in my jail, getting three meals a day, whining and crying.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 29 Nov. 2025
Their father, my grandfather, was a career low-life criminal and was in jail all the time for forgery and conning people.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
The groper was a lowlife—a deranged doctor, bent on harvesting astronaut semen for pernicious procreative ends.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
That’s where detective Kang Dong-woo, played by Jo Woo-jin, searches for his teen daughter and ultimately enlists help from the lowlife fixer Yoon Gil-ho, played by Ji Chang-wook.
—Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for low-life
Recent Examples of Synonyms for low-life
Adjective
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The day Shah Alam was dropped off at the coffee shop, the area saw light freezing rain with temperatures in the low 30s.—
Alisha Ebrahimji,
CNN Money,
27 Feb. 2026
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Their low-profile design pairs effortlessly with any kind of pants, while the light pink leather accents add a subtle pop of color to the classic white exterior.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Political leaders who encourage or tolerate such scoundrels should be driven from office.—
Tom Nichols,
The Atlantic,
23 Feb. 2026
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Going back to the origins of everyone's favorite scoundrel, Han Solo, may have felt like a no-brainer — especially with Kasdan on board as co-writer — but the film never felt like an essential addition to the rapidly expanding canon.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Dec. 2025
Noun
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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
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Her expressions, her movements, her delivery — all of it makes Carol more complex than just a miserable wretch.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
3 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Neville includes a clip from a London play about The Beatles that bore the unwieldy title John, Paul, George, Ringo…and Bert, featured some very bad wigs and makeup and, in keeping with the official story, cast McCartney as the villain.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Feb. 2026
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Hollywood did end up telling that story, with Ben Foster portraying the actor as a villain in the 2015 movie The Program, which Armstrong was not a part of.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
25 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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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
Noun
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Right now, the rascal in him slumbers, briefly glimpsed now and again behind dark shades.—
Emma Madden,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
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Of all the former rascals, Symoné has enjoyed the longest and most successful career in entertainment.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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But her flame was dimmed for far too long by one ignoble record: having the longest streak in Daytime Emmys history of nominations without a win.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Feb. 2026
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Here, however, Makowsky examines a purely ignoble figure who feels entitled without accomplishing a thing.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Low-life.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/low-life. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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