Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [nair doo wel]
- /nɛər du wɛl/
- /neər duː wel/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [nair doo wel]
- /nɛər du wɛl/
Definitions of ne'er-do-well word
- noun ne'er-do-well an idle, worthless person; a person who is ineffectual, unsuccessful, or completely lacking in merit; good-for-nothing. 1
- adjective ne'er-do-well worthless; ineffectual; good-for-nothing. 1
- noun ne'er-do-well an improvident, irresponsible, or lazy person 0
- adjective ne'er-do-well useless; worthless 0
- noun ne'er-do-well a person who never does anything worthwhile; one who cannot make a living, get things done, etc. 0
- adjective ne'er-do-well lazy, inadequate, etc. 0
Information block about the term
Origin of ne'er-do-well
First appearance:
before 1730 One of the 48% newest English words
First recorded in 1730-40
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Ne'er-do-well
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
ne'er-do-well popularity
This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 3% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.
According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.
Synonyms for ne'er-do-well
noun ne'er-do-well
- loafer — a person who loafs; lazy person; idler.
- incompetent — not competent; lacking qualification or ability; incapable: an incompetent candidate.
- idler — the state or quality of being idle.
- loser — a person, team, nation, etc., that loses: The visiting team was the loser in the series.
- wastrel — a wasteful person; spendthrift.
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with n
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