no-good 1 of 2

adjective

ˈnō-ˈgu̇d How to pronounce no-good (audio)
Definition of no-goodnext
1
as in good-for-nothing
having no ambition, success, or value to society tired of supporting their spendthrift, no-good daughter, who has yet to find a job commensurate with her alleged abilities

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2
as in worthless
having no usefulness that no-good chair should be thrown away

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

no-good

2 of 2

noun

ˈnō-ˌgu̇d How to pronounce no-good (audio)
1
as in villain
a mean, evil, or unprincipled person neighbors remembered the killer as having been an utter no-good since childhood

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bum
an idle worthless person we'll have to pay more than minimum wage for the job if we expect to get people other than no-goods

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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 no-good
Adjective
Archie has a no-good, very-bad day, and Dylan goes to bat for her students. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 16 Mar. 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
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 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 See All Example Sentences for no-good
Recent Examples of Synonyms for no-good
  1. good-for-nothing
  2. worthless
  3. villain
  4. bum
  5. lazy
  6. brute
  7. beggar
  8. criminal
Adjective
  • With Jun-hyeon trapped in a coma inside of Yong-ho’s older body, Yong-ho goes about seeking revenge on his good-for-nothing children, and ensuring the future of the Choiseong Group.
    — Kayti Burt, Time, 6 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of good-for-nothing
Adjective
  • What otherwise might have been worthless bits of trash commanded the highest bids due to where the two items were 57 years ago—lifting off aboard NASA’s Apollo 11 spacecraft on humanity’s first mission to land astronauts on the Moon.
    — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 15 July 2026
  • When software moves money on its own, a procedures document is worthless.
    — Rahul Bhatia, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of worthless
Noun
  • The Modi government has portrayed the demonstrators as villains.
    — Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 20 July 2026
  • In the comic, twin brothers Sean and Chris learn their bodies have been enhanced by nanotechnology, thrusting them into a fight against the villain Deadalus within a futuristic world where nature and technology exist side by side.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 20 July 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • The Coliseum stayed in business for 500 years, bums in seats twice a week, watching people hack each other to death.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
  • Sometimes there is a fine line between being a hero or a bum, but Dave has been able to negotiate that line, because players trust him, and the players know that Dave cares about them and their families.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of bum
Adjective
  • The pieces are made for lazy days by the pool and stays at the chicest hotels in the world.
    — Harriet Elton, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 July 2026
  • Okay, the Fourth of July is over, and now we’re settled into the lazy, hazy days of summer.
    — Janet Kusterer, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2026
Definition of lazy
Noun
  • Shinnecock was still a brute of a test, but the red numbers on the white scoreboard were an unfamiliar site for this course.
    — Doug Ferguson, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026
  • These brutes commonly exceed 50 pounds.
    — Keith Sutton, Outdoor Life, 18 June 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • As Telemachus reminds us, the Greeks honor Zeus’ law because even a humble beggar could be a god in disguise.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of beggar
Noun
  • California has some of the nation’s toughest gun laws, but state lawmakers are concerned that a new technology is allowing criminals to obtain firearms by building them from scratch.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2026
  • This lengthy process was typical of ICE’s previous procedures to track down criminals, Sandweg said, which may have shifted under the demands of this administration’s daily arrest goals.
    — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 18 July 2026
Definition of criminal

Browse Nearby Words

noggins
no-good
no-goodnik
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Cite this Entry

“No-good.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-good. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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