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  • no-good
    no-good
    adjective
    lacking worth or merit; useless; bad.
  • no good
    no good
    Unsatisfactory, inadequate; also, no use. For example, This work is no good; it'll have to be done over, or It's no good complaining since there's nothing we can do, or I tried to appeal to his sense of generosity, but it did no good. [Mid-1800s] Also see come to an end (to no good), def. 2; do any (no) good.
Synonyms

no-good

American  
[noh-good, noh-good] / ˈnoʊˈgʊd, ˈnoʊˌgʊd /

adjective

  1. lacking worth or merit; useless; bad.

    This no-good faucet never did work properly. Her no-good brother sold me the car.


noun

  1. a person or thing that is worthless or undependable.

no good Idioms  
  1. Unsatisfactory, inadequate; also, no use. For example, This work is no good; it'll have to be done over, or It's no good complaining since there's nothing we can do, or I tried to appeal to his sense of generosity, but it did no good. [Mid-1800s] Also see come to an end (to no good), def. 2; do any (no) good.


Etymology

Origin of no-good

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Except she was wrong — because besides the totally, horrible, no-good, rotten ending — the show was PERFECT!

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2023

If you believe you are a terrible, no-good parent, you are not going to feel confident in your parenting skills and will be unmotivated to improve them.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 28, 2022

It is a no-good, rotten thing, and I don’t want it to keep existing.

From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2022

Sorkin aside, some queer performers came out okay, on some level, in the terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad year that was 2021.

From Salon • Dec. 28, 2021

“You mean hiding from those no-good kids,” he grumbled.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

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