Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Without merit or value; contemptible: Describes something or someone considered completely useless, worthless, or of poor quality.

2. Noun:

   • An idle, worthless person: Refers to a person who is lazy and contributes nothing of value.

Usage Examples

• Adjective:

  • He was fired for his good-for-naught attitude and complete lack of effort.
  • They abandoned the good-for-naught old truck by the side of the road.

• Noun:

  • Don't listen to that good-for-naught; he's never done an honest day's work in his life.
  • She warned her son not to become a good-for-naught who depended on others.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used for strong disapproval or criticism, implying not just uselessness but also a sense of moral failing or laziness.
• It can be applied to objects, plans, or ideas to emphasize their complete lack of utility or worth.
  • The entire scheme was a good-for-naught endeavor that wasted everyone's time.

Variants and Related Words

• Good-for-nothing: The more common and standard variant with identical meaning.
• No-count (or no-account): (Adjective/Noun) Informal, meaning worthless or a worthless person.
• Ne'er-do-well: (Noun) A person who is lazy and irresponsible.

Synonyms

• Adjective: worthless, useless, no-good, meritless, sorry (as in "a sorry excuse").
• Noun: idler, wastrel, layabout, loafer, deadbeat.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• While "good-for-naught" itself is not typically part of a larger phrasal verb, it is synonymous with the sentiment in idioms like:
  • "Not worth the powder to blow it up": An old-fashioned idiom meaning completely worthless.
  • "Not worth a hill of beans": Means having very little or no value.

Adjective

1. without merit
   • a sorry horse
   • a sorry excuse
   • a lazy no-count, good-for-nothing goldbrick
   • the car was a no-good piece of junk

Noun

1. an idle worthless person