as in lazy
not easily aroused to action or work
shiftless spongers who never thought to do anything for themselves
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Recent Examples of shiftless
Why didn’t Tania just get one of her fellow Council wokesters to hire her shiftless, entitled kin?
—
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The film, like How to Train Your Dragon, is about a shiftless youngster (Lilo, a Hawaiian girl who has been acting out since the death of her parents) bonding with a fantasy creature (Stitch, a blue alien experiment designed as a weapon of destruction).
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
Just as Let’s Start Here tapped the Yves Tumor and Caroline Polachek regulars Justin Raisen and Patrick Wimberly to steer its lysergic pop, Bad Cameo solicits heady, shiftless synthesizer compositions to showcase different dimensions in Lil Yachty’s voice.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 July 2024
Gill’s benevolent steadfastness is supported by his loving, tolerant wife (Shailene Woodley) but mocked by his shiftless brother (a very funny Pete Davidson), who urges him to cash in.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
The filmmaker wrote, directed, shot, edited, and starred in this essentially plotless Super 16 slice-of-life about a shiftless Austin dude who couch surfs across the state.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 4 Apr. 2023
Expectations of real gains in livelihoods among China’s large, increasingly shiftless rural population will be much harder to fulfill in an era of slower growth.
—Scott Rozelle and Matthew Boswell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2022
Their anger focused on a faceless government that neglected people like them and on supposedly shiftless immigrants and minorities who feasted at the public trough.
—Helen Epstein, The New York Review of Books, 10 Mar. 2020
But eventually the smart lower class people will have descendants who are in the upper class, while the shiftless upper class individuals of earlier generations will have descendants who move down the class hierarchy after exhausting their inheritances.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2012
Howie Carr, Boston Herald, 28 Sep. 2025
The film, like How to Train Your Dragon, is about a shiftless youngster (Lilo, a Hawaiian girl who has been acting out since the death of her parents) bonding with a fantasy creature (Stitch, a blue alien experiment designed as a weapon of destruction).
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
Just as Let’s Start Here tapped the Yves Tumor and Caroline Polachek regulars Justin Raisen and Patrick Wimberly to steer its lysergic pop, Bad Cameo solicits heady, shiftless synthesizer compositions to showcase different dimensions in Lil Yachty’s voice.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 3 July 2024
Gill’s benevolent steadfastness is supported by his loving, tolerant wife (Shailene Woodley) but mocked by his shiftless brother (a very funny Pete Davidson), who urges him to cash in.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2023
The filmmaker wrote, directed, shot, edited, and starred in this essentially plotless Super 16 slice-of-life about a shiftless Austin dude who couch surfs across the state.
—A.a. Dowd, Chron, 4 Apr. 2023
Expectations of real gains in livelihoods among China’s large, increasingly shiftless rural population will be much harder to fulfill in an era of slower growth.
—Scott Rozelle and Matthew Boswell, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2022
Their anger focused on a faceless government that neglected people like them and on supposedly shiftless immigrants and minorities who feasted at the public trough.
—Helen Epstein, The New York Review of Books, 10 Mar. 2020
But eventually the smart lower class people will have descendants who are in the upper class, while the shiftless upper class individuals of earlier generations will have descendants who move down the class hierarchy after exhausting their inheritances.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 24 June 2012
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shiftless
Adjective
-
Inevitability can make companies lazy, investors less disciplined and entire industries mistake hype for adoption.—
Hebron Sher,
Fortune,
29 May 2026
-
This is an off-duty look perfect for meeting up with friends, especially on lazy mornings.—
Kelsey Stiegman,
Glamour,
27 May 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
“Shiftless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiftless. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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