work-shy
/'wə:kʃai/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Disinclined to work or exertion; lazy, idle: Describes a person who avoids work or physical effort, often due to a lack of motivation or a preference for inactivity.
Usage
- The term "work-shy" is used to characterize an individual's habitual attitude toward labor. It is often pejorative, implying criticism of a person's unwillingness to engage in productive activity.
- It can describe a temporary state or a more permanent character trait.
Examples
- Adjective:
- The manager complained that the new intern was work-shy and often avoided assigned tasks.
- He was labeled as work-shy because he consistently found excuses to leave early.
Advanced Usage
- The term is frequently used in sociological or economic discussions about unemployment, sometimes to controversially suggest that a lack of employment is due to personal laziness rather than structural factors.
- Politicians argued that the benefits system was creating a work-shy generation.
Variants and Related Words
- Idle (adj): Not active or in use; avoiding work.
- Indolent (adj): Wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy.
- Slothful (adj): Lazily inactive.
- Faineant (adj, literary): Idle or ineffective.
Synonyms
- Lazy
- Idle
- Indolent
- Slothful
- Shiftless
Antonyms
- Industrious
- Hard-working
- Diligent
- Assiduous
- Energetic
Adjective
- disinclined to work or exertion
- faineant kings under whose rule the country languished
- an indolent hanger-on
- too lazy to wash the dishes
- shiftless idle youth
- slothful employees
- the unemployed are not necessarily work-shy