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
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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
-
This is where lazy Jordan comes in.—
Kailyn Brown,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Esteemed writers fall back on lazy analogies and text like drunk high schoolers.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And Cam, for one, is tired of being talked about as a bum.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
2 Mar. 2026
-
What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 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
-
Head over to Quince to order the designer lookalike hobo bag, or keep scrolling to shop more luxurious handbags from the brand.—
Megan Schaltegger,
InStyle,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The hobo bag has been popular with several brands over the past few seasons.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Glamour,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The conventional newsgathering institutions have been worthless in getting to the bottom of anything, especially the billion-dollar why question.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Google, ChatGPT, Alexa and every other AI toy are all equally worthless here.—
Mac Engel
March 5,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The ordeal at Keystone gave me an up-close view of the no-good, very bad 2025-26 ski season.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
9 Jan. 2026
-
Released in 1958, Attack told of a wealthy heiress, fresh from a stint at a mental institution, who is turned into a giantess and then deals with her philandering husband and his no-good, money-grubbing floozy.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Hollywood turned him into a beggar.—
Lili Anolik,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
-
In the old days beggars were drawn and quartered in that square.—
George Packer,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Reuters reported Monday that traffic into and out of the Gulf was at an almost complete standstill and that hundreds of tankers were sitting idle near Hormuz.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
-
But the Heat did extend its lead over the idle eighth-place Philadelphia 76ers (34-29) to one game.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 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 11 Mar. 2026.
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