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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

do-nothing en · ADJ

Etymology

Essentially deverbal in nature, albeit not from a unitary phrasal verb, but from the phrase do nothing, which English expresses as a verb phrase containing a complement.

Meanings

  1. (attributive) Doing nothing, not taking any action.
    • Manchester needs more railway capacity. Just how that is provided until the new platforms are built for HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, I will leave for the experts, but a do-nothing approach is not going to be helpful and quite justifiably will create more arguments that the North is being ignored. 2020 April 22, “Letters: Open Access: Castlefield conundrum”, in Rail, page 31:
    • It became clear that a chronic do-nothing approach to the problem's management would no longer suffice.

do-nothing en · NOUN

Etymology

Essentially deverbal in nature, albeit not from a unitary phrasal verb, but from the phrase do nothing, which English expresses as a verb phrase containing a complement.

Meanings

  1. A lazy person.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
do-nothings Number=Plur lexicographic

Antonyms

self-starter · gunner · doer · dynamo · doer · agent

Deriveds

do-nothingness · do-nothingism

Relateds

know-nothing

Synonyms

tarrier · layabout · sofa spud · shirker · dawdler · lallygag · wastrel · faineant · lounge lizard · slugabed · idler · ne'er-do-well · lazy ass · sluggabed · lie-abed · lazybones · dosser · goof-off · waster · bum · slug · loafer · get-nothing · slacker · slob · slugabug · goldbricker · flaneur · couch potato · lidderon · slug-a-bed · ragabash · deadbeat · good-for-nothing · poop · lollygagger · wasteman · sluggard · lounger · loiter-sack · skiver · laggard · truant · footler · idleton · do-naught · morepork · slow belly · lazy louse · dogfucker · idler · do-nothing

Translations (6)

pl nierób (lazy person) · fi laiskuri (lazy person) · unm nulhàntës (lazy person) · uk неро́ба (lazy person) · uk не́ро́б (lazy person) · fi laiskamato (lazy person)