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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scoundrel
Related Words
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
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
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
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
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
-
Shop sets with short and sleeveless tops, shorts, and cropped pants, and even one with a duster, starting as low as $20.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
17 Apr. 2026
-
This was, in part, because my family didn’t have a lot of money, and updating electronics was a low priority.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
New Orleans has long been notorious for embracing such scoundrels, a reputation that isn’t exactly helped by the fact that, for many years, disgraced attorneys who lost their licenses in Louisiana and applied for readmission to the bar often got it.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Sure, the Oscar-winning makeup helps transform the actor into Cheney, but the voice and petulance are all Bale, whose conjuring of this scoundrel ought to trigger PTSD for anyone who survived the Dubya years.—
Tim Grierson,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2026
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
Adjective
-
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
-
Below that sits the pedestrian CLK 500 and plebeian CLK 350.—
Jeremy Korzeniewski,
Robb Report,
26 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Like a cartoon villain, though, Paula kicks up the edge of the carpet, which causes poor Miriam to make a dog’s dinner of afternoon tea.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Nemesis achieves a lot, introducing a dangerous new villain that even the mighty Asgard fear, while ramping up the tension for a suitably dramatic season finale.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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
Noun
-
Right now, the rascal in him slumbers, briefly glimpsed now and again behind dark shades.—
Emma Madden,
Los Angeles Times,
25 Feb. 2026
-
Of all the former rascals, Symoné has enjoyed the longest and most successful career in entertainment.—
Andrew Walsh,
Entertainment Weekly,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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 20 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
