shirker

as in lingerer
one who deliberately avoids work or duty even before we weighed anchor, the captain forcefully served notice that there would be no shirkers on his ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for shirker
Noun
  • In The Big Lebowski, thugs mistake the titular slacker (Bridges) for the wealthy Jeffrey Lebowski, sending him on a wild investigation with his pal Walter (John Goodman) into a ransom plot involving Lebowski’s young wife (Tara Reid).
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Since signing to Matador, the band has sharpened its sound into a quirky, exhilarated alt-pop, too uncanny to be dance-punk and too lively to be slacker rock.
    Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • As drone warfare evolves, the service aims to field layered defenses capable of protecting maneuver units against everything from quadcopters to cruise missiles.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Visitors are encouraged to take plenty of photos, but drones, selfie sticks, and professional photography equipment are not allowed.
    Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The 170-grain slug socked him right between the horns.
    Bob Cary, Outdoor Life, 15 Oct. 2025
  • California has 42 official state symbols after Governor Newsom signed three bills to create new symbols in 2024, including the Dungeness crab as the state crustacean, the banana slug as the state slug, and the black abalone as the state seashell.
    Martha McHardy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Shirker.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shirker. Accessed 23 Oct. 2025.

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