lowlife

[ loh-lahyf ]

noun

, plural low·lifes.

1. a despicable person, especially a degenerate or immoral person.

lowlife

/ ˈləʊˌlaɪf /

noun

1. slang.
   1. a member or members of the underworld
   2. ( as modifier )

      his lowlife friends

Word History and Origins

Origin of lowlife¹

First recorded in 1785–95; low ¹ + life

Example Sentences

In any subset of humanity, you’ll find grifters, narcissistic man-children, and other lowlifes.

From Outside Online

He’ll do anything he can to hold onto his land, even as a variety of challengers, from nearby tribes of Indigenous people to big-city land developers to assorted random lowlifes, attempt to take it from him.

From Vox

Sniping from lowlifes like Stone notwithstanding, that is a pretty respectable record.

From The Daily Beast

Because Riesman had access to some of these lowlifes, the book is a little heavy with awful details of Lee’s twilight years.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• antihero
• bad guy
• baddie
• baddy
• criminal
• devil
• scoundrel
• sinner