shiftless

adjective

ˈshif(t)-ləs How to pronounce shiftless (audio)
Definition of shiftlessnext
as in lazy
not easily aroused to action or work shiftless spongers who never thought to do anything for themselves

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
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 After the volunteers slink back to Paddy’s, the most shiftless person on campus will once again be Principal Coleman (Janelle James), whose ineptitude and vanity don’t prevent her from advocating for the students from time to time. — Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 9 Jan. 2025 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for shiftless
  1. lazy
  2. idle
Adjective
  • People get lazy, reusing passwords or pseudonyms or crypto wallets.
    — Finn Brunton, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026
  • As the lazy days of summer fade and little ones return to school, autumn invites an air of academia.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of lazy
Adjective
  • There are no staffing meetings, no waiting for someone to become available and no work sitting idle because the right person is on vacation or buried under a backlog of deliverables.
    — Charles Lew, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
  • This results in more empty containers sitting idle on chassis throughout the ports.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of idle

Browse Nearby Words

shifting
shiftless
shiftlessly
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Cite this Entry

“Shiftless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/shiftless. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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