as in lazy
having no ambition, success, or value to society
the ne'er-do-well denizens of a seedy bar near the docks
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bum
an idle worthless person
the local ne'er-do-wells seem to hang out on the street corners at all hours of the day and night
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of ne'er-do-well
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
Butler portrays the charming ne'er-do-well Hank, an East Village bartender who loves his mom, baseball and girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Who amongst us hasn't wanted to enjoy the spoils of a ne'er-do-well's criminal enterprises?
—Chris Haslam, Wired News, 23 May 2025
How To Solve Today’s Wordle The Hint: Useful for protecting your home from disaster or ne'er-do-wells.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
Oct 10, 2024 Gulf Coast Reporter Chris Gray is Chron's Gulf Coast Reporter, covering tourism and tourists, energy and the environment, overachievers and ne'er-do-wells: compelling stories from across the upper Texas coast, but with a deep focus on Galveston's rich history and culture.
—Chris Gray, Chron, 10 Oct. 2024
Rickman's agent was flooded with offers, beseeching the actor to play more debonair ne'er-do-wells.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 25 May 2023
In April, the company had to temporarily shut down service in Chicago when ne'er-do-wells managed to fraudulently rent and then steal 100 Mercedes-Benz vehicles off the street.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2019
Noun
After seeing the flare, the ne'er-do-wells steal Hunter's car instead of calling for help.
—Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 20 Feb. 2026
Butler portrays the charming ne'er-do-well Hank, an East Village bartender who loves his mom, baseball and girlfriend Yvonne (Zoë Kravitz).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
Who amongst us hasn't wanted to enjoy the spoils of a ne'er-do-well's criminal enterprises?
—Chris Haslam, Wired News, 23 May 2025
How To Solve Today’s Wordle The Hint: Useful for protecting your home from disaster or ne'er-do-wells.
—Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 20 May 2025
Oct 10, 2024 Gulf Coast Reporter Chris Gray is Chron's Gulf Coast Reporter, covering tourism and tourists, energy and the environment, overachievers and ne'er-do-wells: compelling stories from across the upper Texas coast, but with a deep focus on Galveston's rich history and culture.
—Chris Gray, Chron, 10 Oct. 2024
Rickman's agent was flooded with offers, beseeching the actor to play more debonair ne'er-do-wells.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 25 May 2023
In April, the company had to temporarily shut down service in Chicago when ne'er-do-wells managed to fraudulently rent and then steal 100 Mercedes-Benz vehicles off the street.
—Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ne'er-do-well
Adjective
-
The lazy writing doesn’t end there.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
12 June 2026
-
Rise up in the biggest moments, not on a lazy Tuesday night in Columbus.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
For those caught unaware, the flies will also happily lay eggs in convenient openings such as the nose, mouth, ears, eyes, and even the bum, if available.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
9 June 2026
-
The Kings will inevitably be criticized for making a series of bad decisions and bum deals while Fox, Barnes and Brown grace the game’s grandest stage a year after being cast off under questionable circumstances.—
Jason Anderson,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
Adjective
-
The black comedy crime film is written by Niki Sheldrake and tells the story of Colin and Stanley, two good-for-nothing brothers who are faced with the repayment of their dead father’s debt to a notorious loan shark named Maggie.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
8 May 2024
-
Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule.—
ByMitch Leslie,
science.org,
8 June 2023
Noun
-
Per usual with movies like this, spelling out the terror (the roots are in hobo codes and religious legend) becomes, regrettably, a shock absorber, not a facilitator.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
-
Schneider plays David, a reticent young man with the soulful-hobo air of a Beat poet, who makes a living as an events photographer but whose private passion is a secretive lifelong project, inherited from his father, documenting the changing Parisian suburbs.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
Radical approaches to what is precious and what is worthless—or appraisal—have always been more than the inversion of that which is useless made priceless, what was originally meant to be ephemeral made timeless.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 June 2026
-
That essence of the girl who feels worthless and fears she’ll be found out by everyone still exists in Yasmin in Season 4.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
7 June 2026
Noun
-
Gobert was chief among the beggars imploring his teammates for a shred of consistency on that end of the floor.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Antinous later shocked the other suitors by insulting and assaulting with a footstool an elderly beggar who had spoken to him in the palace hall.—
Gitanjali Roy,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
David Lynch's projects, the TV series Twin Peaks and the 1984 film Dune, launched MacLachlan to stardom in the '80s, before landing the role as Fred and Barney's no-good boss Cliff Vandercave in The Flintstones.—
Kate Hogan,
PEOPLE,
8 May 2026
-
This is going to be a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day.—
Nathan Rott,
NPR,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Rent the Runway, now controlled by Story3 and Nexus Capital Management, is on the hunt for a permanent successor for Hyman, but is not sitting idle.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
3 June 2026
-
The rescue operation inside the cave has been idle for several days due to the heavy monsoon rains hitting the country's Xaisomboun province, rescue officials said.—
Aicha El Hammar Castano,
ABC News,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ne'er-do-well.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ne%27er-do-well. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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