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no-good
no-goodadjectivelacking worth or merit; useless; bad.
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no good
no goodUnsatisfactory, 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.
no-good
Americanadjective
noun
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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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.