as in lazy
having no ambition, success, or value to society
refused to leave anything in his will to his good-for-nothing grandchildren
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bum
an idle worthless person
teacher after teacher had predicted that he would never be more than a good-for-nothing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of good-for-nothing
Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 May 2024
Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule.
—Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 8 June 2023
In the film, directed by Taika Waititi, Hela comes back to Asgard seeking revenge and looking to kick everybody's ass, starting with her good-for-nothing brothers Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Hemsworth).
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Adjective
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
Yet later this year up to 40 healthy Australian volunteers may begin receiving infusions of the supposedly good-for-nothing molecule.
—Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 8 June 2023
In the film, directed by Taika Waititi, Hela comes back to Asgard seeking revenge and looking to kick everybody's ass, starting with her good-for-nothing brothers Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Hemsworth).
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 16 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for good-for-nothing
Adjective
-
Forest walks, lazy lake days, midday swims, and evening bonfires are a part of your regular day.—
Miles Walls,
Better Homes & Gardens,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Camels seem slow, hippos clumsy, phoenixes unstable, lions lazy.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Celebratory backslaps, encouraging bum-pats and the fall of opposition wickets celebrated en masse are often an indication of a team’s togetherness.—
James Wallace,
New York Times,
5 Sep. 2025
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With both travel and programming budgets under pressure, all markets have to make a strong case to get buyer and seller bums on seats (or, more accurately, into screening booths and meeting rooms).—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The energy department said wind and solar capacity is 'worthless' without sunlight or wind.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
9 Sep. 2025
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Overnight, many of those owners saw their wealth erased — their principal assets rendered worthless.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Got a lot of mountains to climb, had to leave some beggars behind.—
Ilana Kaplan,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
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Indeed, the beauty of New Orleans proper was found in its colorful variety of humans—the loons and cons, the beggars and peddlers.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Resnick speaks on behalf of seething, antisocial comedians everywhere, explaining and dismissing his quirks with lots of memories childhood, such as a horrible, no-good, very bad Easter egg hunt.—
Brian Boone,
Vulture,
18 June 2025
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Watch my video discussion of these shows below: What were your least-favorite, no-good, terrible TV shows of 2024?—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
25 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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There’s some idle speculation in the films about where the Xenomorphs sit on the evolutionary ladder, and nearly every Alien story at some point deals with the question of whether synthetic creations care about their makers.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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The display can smartly scale down to 1Hz when idle and now comes with a new anti-reflective coating.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Sep. 2025
Noun
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From oversized, slouchy hobos to structured East-West silhouettes and laptop-ready work totes, this season’s best suede bags deliver a luxurious polish that will elevate every fall wardrobe.—
Lauren Alexis Fisher,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2025
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On May 3, she was seen toting around the brand's slouchy black hobo bag with gunmetal hardware before switching to one of their smaller shoulder bags for a concert later that night.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
30 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Good-for-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/good-for-nothing. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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