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shiftless

/ˈʃɪftlɪs/
IPA guide

Other forms: shiftlessly

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.

Definitions of shiftless
  1. adjective
    lacking or characterized by lack of ambition or initiative; lazy
    “a shiftless student”
    “studied in a shiftless way”
    synonyms:
    ambitionless, unambitious
    having little desire for success or achievement
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