good-for-nothing
/ˌɡʊd.fəˈnʌθ.ɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɡʊd.fɚˈnʌθ.ɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈɡʊd fə nʌθɪŋ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɡʊd fər nʌθɪŋ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈgu̇d-fər-ˌnə-thiŋ/ (ame, mw)
good-for-nothing — noun
1. someone who avoids work and never does anything that other people can rely on
someone who avoids work and never does anything that other people can rely on
Cyrus called his younger brother a good-for-nothing for sleeping until noon every day.
noun used as an insult about a lazy person
The old farmer warned that the village had too many good-for-nothings and not enough workers.
plural good-for-nothings
Everyone treated Eitan like a good-for-nothing until he opened his own bakery.
Gabriela refused to marry a good-for-nothing who had never held a steady job.
- hard worker
someone reliable who puts in real effort
文法句型
a good-for-nothing
good-for-nothings (plural)
用法筆記
Always carries a scornful tone, so it appears in complaints, insults, and family arguments rather than in neutral description.
常見錯誤
good-for-nothing — adjective
1. having no value and bringing no help to anyone, used to describe a lazy person o
having no value and bringing no help to anyone, used to describe a lazy person or a thing that fails to do its job
Emily threw out the good-for-nothing umbrella because it leaked in every storm.
good-for-nothing + noun describing a useless object
Nikhil was tired of his good-for-nothing neighbour who borrowed tools and never returned them.
good-for-nothing describing a person
The coach benched the good-for-nothing player who skipped every practice session.
Jisoo fixed the good-for-nothing printer that had jammed paper for the whole week.
- useful
having clear value or helping get something done
文法句型
good-for-nothing + noun
用法筆記
Only used before a noun, never after a linking verb like 'be'; you say 'a good-for-nothing brother', not 'my brother is good-for-nothing'.