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

Explanation

If someone calls you shiftless, it's not a compliment — they're saying that you're lazy and unambitious! Someone who's shiftless avoids hard work at any cost, sometimes through procrastination. Do you hate getting sweaty or feeling tired at the end of a long day of labor? When volunteers are requested, do you slump in your seat instead of raising your hand? If so, you can call yourself shiftless. This adjective comes from a now-uncommon use of the noun shift as "resources." So if you don't have the get-up-and-go — or shift — to do a job, you're shiftless.

Example Sentences

Or the shiftless hack who hated his profession?

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2021

Colm Meaney plays a shiftless guy in late-80s Ireland who is reasonably happy on welfare but has a Damascene conversion to entrepreneurialism.

From The Guardian • Apr. 16, 2020

Really, why not go all the way to shiftless?

From Washington Post • Feb. 9, 2018

I prefer to watch it on my own shiftless terms.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2016

His parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people--his imagination had never really accepted them as his parents at all.

From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald