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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ne'er-do-well
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
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
-
Forest walks, lazy lake days, midday swims, and evening bonfires are a part of your regular day.—
Miles Walls,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Camels seem slow, hippos clumsy, phoenixes unstable, lions lazy.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Celebratory backslaps, encouraging bum-pats and the fall of opposition wickets celebrated en masse are often an indication of a team’s togetherness.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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With both travel and programming budgets under pressure, all markets have to make a strong case to get buyer and seller bums on seats (or, more accurately, into screening booths and meeting rooms).—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
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
-
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
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On May 3, she was seen toting around the brand's slouchy black hobo bag with gunmetal hardware before switching to one of their smaller shoulder bags for a concert later that night.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Rare is the business that grows by intermediating what is rendered worthless by the intermediation.—
John Tamny,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
-
But these systems require setup time, which is possible before a hurricane surge, but worthless during rain bombs that can turn streets into rivers in minutes.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Resnick speaks on behalf of seething, antisocial comedians everywhere, explaining and dismissing his quirks with lots of memories childhood, such as a horrible, no-good, very bad Easter egg hunt.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
-
Watch my video discussion of these shows below: What were your least-favorite, no-good, terrible TV shows of 2024?—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
25 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Got a lot of mountains to climb, had to leave some beggars behind.—
Ilana Kaplan,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Indeed, the beauty of New Orleans proper was found in its colorful variety of humans—the loons and cons, the beggars and peddlers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
By selectively powering down idle components, Arcam claims the overall noise floor is significantly decreased.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The Irish are 0-1 and staring at an idle weekend with plenty to work on after a 27-24 loss in Miami on the Sunday night of Week 1.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ne'er-do-well.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ne%27er-do-well. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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