: marked by inactivity or failure to make positive progress
Examples of do-nothing in a Sentence
Noun
the new boss quickly figured out who the do-nothings were and fired them
he indiscriminately dismisses the state legislators as a bunch of do-nothings who live at the taxpayers' expense
Recent Examples on the Web
Fox News, 19 Mar. 2025
Many of these new candidates will be ordinary citizens who are fed up with the feckless and do-nothing politics of the Democratic establishment.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Christy Merrick, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Siri needs a facelift Apple has apparently been riding the do-nothing train for 14 years.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025
Acevedo, 61, a Chicago Democrat, is central to allegations that AT&T Illinois and Commonwealth Edison funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in do-nothing consulting contracts to Acevedo and other Madigan loyalists in return for the speaker’s help with legislation in Springfield.
—Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 17 Dec. 2024
Care was taken to include documentation from the likes of CNN and Fox News, lest attacks on the do-nothing Congress came across as a one-sided attack.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024
The outside view largely is of a do-nothing summer by the Miami Heat, with 11 players returning from the roster that recorded just one playoff win last season.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 July 2024
Many of these new candidates will be ordinary citizens who are fed up with the feckless and do-nothing politics of the Democratic establishment.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Christy Merrick, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Siri needs a facelift Apple has apparently been riding the do-nothing train for 14 years.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025
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Noun
Continue reading … OPINION DAVID MARCUS – Why Schumer's do-nothing approach makes perfect sense for Democrats.
—Fox News, 19 Mar. 2025
Many of these new candidates will be ordinary citizens who are fed up with the feckless and do-nothing politics of the Democratic establishment.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Christy Merrick, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Siri needs a facelift Apple has apparently been riding the do-nothing train for 14 years.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025
Acevedo, 61, a Chicago Democrat, is central to allegations that AT&T Illinois and Commonwealth Edison funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in do-nothing consulting contracts to Acevedo and other Madigan loyalists in return for the speaker’s help with legislation in Springfield.
—Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune, 17 Dec. 2024
Care was taken to include documentation from the likes of CNN and Fox News, lest attacks on the do-nothing Congress came across as a one-sided attack.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 15 Dec. 2024
The outside view largely is of a do-nothing summer by the Miami Heat, with 11 players returning from the roster that recorded just one playoff win last season.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 15 July 2024
Many of these new candidates will be ordinary citizens who are fed up with the feckless and do-nothing politics of the Democratic establishment.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
Christy Merrick, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Siri needs a facelift Apple has apparently been riding the do-nothing train for 14 years.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 5 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Do-nothing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/do-nothing. Accessed 20 Apr. 2025.
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