Meaning & use
Shiftless
Last updated
Lacking ambition, resourcefulness, or motivation; habitually lazy.
See it in a sentence
The old man complained about his shiftless nephew who never held a job.
Critics called the policy an excuse for shiftless bureaucracy.
A note on using this word
Originally meant lacking the resourcefulness to "shift for oneself"; the word has since narrowed to imply simple laziness.
Words with a similar meaning
lazyindolent
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
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