shiftless

American  

[shift-lis] / ˈʃɪft lɪs /

adjective

1. lacking in resourcefulness; inefficient; lazy.

   Synonyms:

   indolent, careless, slothful

2. lacking in incentive, ambition, or aspiration.

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shiftless British  

/ ˈʃɪftlɪs /

adjective

1. lacking in ambition or initiative

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Other Word Forms

• shiftlessly adverb
• shiftlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of shiftless

First recorded in 1555–65; shift + -less

Example Sentences

He posted a YouTube video portraying several people in the camp harshly as violent and shiftless.

From Los Angeles Times

Or the shiftless hack who hated his profession?

From Los Angeles Times

In that classic American tale by Washington Irving published in 1819, an amiable but shiftless farmer strolls out of his colonial village to go hunting in the Catskill Mountains.

From Salon

Stereotypes about "big government" or the "nanny state" are allied to stereotypes about "welfare queens" and other "lazy" or "shiftless" black people who are "living off" the taxpayers, understood to be white people.

From Salon

The harder he worked, the deeper C.P. sank into the very rut that had swallowed his father, even as he watched the less talented and shiftless children of the wealthy prosper.

From Literature