LAYABOUT Synonyms: 51 Similar and Opposite Words

layabout

noun

ˈlā-ə-ˌbau̇t

Definition of layabout

as in slug

a lazy person she regretted ever asking that layabout to be her roommate, as he created the mess of two people and refused to help with anything

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of layabout As the story begins, Mary and Boo are neighbors, unemployed millennial layabouts who rarely leave their rooms. — Katie Rife, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2026 Tamma’s mother is partnered with a drug-dealing layabout; Dan’s mother, a onetime successful novelist, has a worsening heart condition. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Jan. 2026 Not surprisingly, some colonists preferred to be layabouts. — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 27 Nov. 2025 Moore’s then-husband Bruce Willis plays against-type as the abusive layabout husband of hairdresser Joyce (Glenne Headly). — Katie Rife, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for layabout

Recent Examples of Synonyms for layabout

Noun

Home runs are king in the postseason, but that’s where Caminero comes in, with Liam Hicks, Yandy Díaz and Jonathan Aranda also offering some slug.

— Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Trim back the dead foliage in fall to improve your garden’s appearance and prevent slug eggs from overwintering.

— Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of slug

Noun

The South London artist channels Disney soundtrack tropes into claustrophobic strings and drones, while a handful of vocal tracks hint darkly at real-world family drama.

— Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
Sobyanin later reported 68 more drones targeting Moscow were downed during daylight on Tuesday morning.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of drone

Noun

Carl Sandburg’s 1927 American Songbag featured a whole section of hobo songs presenting the bum as a beau ideal.

— Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books, 3 Oct. 2026
The silhouette was heavily elongated, with three-quarter-length jackets and argyle knitwear that covered the bum.

— ABC News, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of bum

Noun

In the film Rap World (which Bensinger also edited), Bensinger, O’Malley, and Rahill play suburban deadbeats eager to make an album, each man waylaid by his own hubris and distractions.

— Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 21 Sep. 2026
In the fight for the right to be yourself, there are a lot of barriers to being accepted as a female deadbeat.

— Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of deadbeat

Noun

Their name exudes the essence of an idler and slacker, but women’s loafers themselves are quite the opposite.

— Gaby Keiderling, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Jan. 2023
This represents the loss of an idea of what the capital should represent, the removal of a place that was an idler’s haven.

— Anandi Mishra, The Atlantic, 30 July 2022

Definition of idler

Noun

At Malate Church in Manila, parishioners marked the feast by bringing their beloved pets for a special blessing — mostly dogs but also cats and even a pet snail.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Oct. 2026
The inflatable horses, butterflies, snails and other creatures were made by the New York artist and designer Katie Stout.

— Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of snail

Noun

Scar then proceeds to desolate the kingdom, with the help of hyenas, while Simba, in exile, grows up to become a pleasure-hunting, grub-eating sluggard.

— Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 July 2019
Clearly, supervision at your job is lax, and your sluggard classmate is taking advantage of that.

— Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2017

Definition of sluggard

Browse Nearby Words

lay

layabout

layabouts

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“Layabout.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layabout. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of layabout

noun

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