as in lazy
not easily aroused to action or work
shiftless spongers who never thought to do anything for themselves
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of shiftless
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
Adjective
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
-
Of course, some cliches are nothing but lazy thinking.—
Stephanie Bunbury,
Deadline,
30 Aug. 2025
-
That kind of artistic abdication can sometimes come off as lazy, but in this case there was something heartwarming about letting the enthusiastic crowd carry that weight with joy and high fives all around.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
29 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Finally, there is a deep inertia in the developer community.—
Albert Castellana,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
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Experts believe this is because families become entrenched in their academic routines; inertia plays a role in keeping students on track.—
De Elizabeth,
Parents,
27 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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By selectively powering down idle components, Arcam claims the overall noise floor is significantly decreased.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The Irish are 0-1 and staring at an idle weekend with plenty to work on after a 27-24 loss in Miami on the Sunday night of Week 1.—
Pete Sampson,
New York Times,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Kahneman’s work in Thinking, Fast and Slow highlights cognitive laziness, our tendency to seek quick answers and shortcuts that can come at the expense of deeper insight.—
Sarat Chakravarthi,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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The results not only call into question a potential laziness developing as a result of an overreliance on AI, but also the changing relationship between medical practitioners and a longstanding tradition of analog training.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Shiftless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiftless. Accessed 6 Sep. 2025.
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