1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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
  • Inflation has reached absurd heights, the Lebanese pound is all but worthless, and the government shuts off the electricity for more than half of each day.
    — Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Therefore, at current depletion rates, most of Venezuela’s oil reserves are worthless.
    — Steve H. Hanke, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of worthless
Noun
  • Her bulging eyes, her piercing shrieks, her casual yet immaculately articulate cruelty all come together to form a cartoonish villain who’s also a commanding delight.
    — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The implicit villain in that critique was Senator Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat who refused to go along with changing the Senate rules, dooming many of Biden’s legislative ambitions.
    — Isaac Arnsdorf, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of villain
Noun
  • Within the often zany and slapstick realm of Bob’s Burgers, Tina still manages to steal the show with her singular voice, romantic fantasies, and obsessions with unicorns and boy bums.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Even then, and with Nix having a bum ankle to Mahomes’ bum knee, the Broncos have shown a lot more in the last year to inspire confidence than the Chiefs have.
    — J.J. Bailey, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of bum
Adjective
  • But whereas The Holdovers’s Paul Hunham despises his lazy, pampered students, The Debut’s Jerry Blankenbuehler has a determination to summon theatrical magic out of his meager cast.
    — Joe Reid, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
  • In places at low to moderate risk of fire, along the edges of flat valleys and lazy hills, growth in the FAIR Plan is ballooning, and it is being used to underwrite new suburban development.
    — Paige St. John, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of lazy
Noun
  • Most sportsmen wonder how any whitetail bucks, let alone a brute such as Kontras’, could have been so easily patterned.
    — Jeff Murray, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The show’s depiction of Hugh as a family man has been much more sympathetic than the book’s description of him as a power-hungry brute.
    — James Grebey, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of brute
Noun
  • Dhaka’s rundown streets peppered with the homeless, vendors and child beggars.
    — Miriam Balanescu, IndieWire, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Robert Pattinson’s big outburst in Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey,’ has gone viral—here’s the ‘beggars’ meme, explained.
    — Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
Definition of beggar
Noun
  • Victims who clicked those ads were redirected to fake banking websites controlled by the criminals, according to the DOJ.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Trump, his family and his wealthy cronies are criminals spending taxpayers’ money and taking it with their underhanded deals with our enemies.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of criminal

Browse Nearby Words

noggins
no-good
no-goodnik
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“No-good.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-good. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of pundit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All