as in inertia
an inclination not to do work or engage in activities
with the start of the warm weather, combating the students' shiftlessness was a constant ordeal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shiftlessness
Noun
-
The city’s unique pace of regulation, agile visa regimes, and deep integration across sectors from education to manufacturing provide a seamless environment for businesses to pilot, scale, and diversify quickly, often cutting through the bureaucratic inertia found elsewhere.—
Abdulla Belhoul,
Fortune,
4 Feb. 2026 -
Ships have real inertia and Newtonian physics, and pilots can choose to toggle flight assistance on to help stabilize their often unpredictable craft, or off to perform mind-bending maneuvers that can be the edge between life and death in high-skill player versus player shootouts.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Pearce accused her of laziness.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
3 Feb. 2026
-
The contrast piping detail gives it something structured for the lounging expert, and takes the robe from being a symbol of laziness to a symbol of sustained self-care.—
Julia Harrison,
Architectural Digest,
2 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Shiftlessness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiftlessness. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
