"never-do-well" meaning in English

See never-do-well in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/ [Canada, General-American], /ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/ [Australia, New-Zealand], /ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/ [New-Zealand], /ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/ [New-Zealand], /ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/ [Scotland], /ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/ [India] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav [Southern-England] Forms: more never-do-well [comparative], most never-do-well [superlative]
enPR: nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′ Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl Etymology: From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664. Etymology templates: {{com|en|never<pos:adv>|do<pos:v>|well<pos:adv>}} never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb), {{etydate|1664}} First attested in 1664 Head templates: {{en-adj}} never-do-well (comparative more never-do-well, superlative most never-do-well), {{tlb|en|Northeastern US}} (Northeastern US)
  1. Alternative form of ne'er-do-well. Tags: Northeastern, US, alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: ne'er-do-well
    Sense id: en-never-do-well-en-adj-lFM-jY55 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Northeastern US English, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 50 50 Disambiguation of Northeastern US English: 52 48 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 50 50

Noun

IPA: /ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/ [Received-Pronunciation], /ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/ [Canada, General-American], /ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/ [Australia, New-Zealand], /ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/ [New-Zealand], /ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/ [New-Zealand], /ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/ [Scotland], /ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/ [India] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav [Southern-England] Forms: never-do-wells [plural]
enPR: nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′ Rhymes: -ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl Etymology: From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664. Etymology templates: {{com|en|never<pos:adv>|do<pos:v>|well<pos:adv>}} never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb), {{etydate|1664}} First attested in 1664 Head templates: {{en-noun}} never-do-well (plural never-do-wells), {{tlb|en|Northeastern US}} (Northeastern US)
  1. Alternative form of ne'er-do-well. Tags: Northeastern, US, alt-of, alternative Alternative form of: ne'er-do-well
    Sense id: en-never-do-well-en-noun-lFM-jY55 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Northeastern US English, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 50 50 Disambiguation of Northeastern US English: 52 48 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 51 49 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 50 50

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "never",
      "never#English"
    ],
    [
      "do",
      "do#English"
    ],
    [
      "well",
      "well#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "never<pos:adv>",
        "3": "do<pos:v>",
        "4": "well<pos:adv>"
      },
      "expansion": "never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb)",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1664"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1664",
      "name": "etydate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "never-do-wells",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "never-do-well (plural never-do-wells)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Northeastern US"
      },
      "expansion": "(Northeastern US)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "nev",
        "er-do-well"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "ne'er-do-well"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "52 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Northeastern US English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ne'er-do-well."
      ],
      "id": "en-never-do-well-en-noun-lFM-jY55",
      "links": [
        [
          "ne'er-do-well",
          "ne'er-do-well#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "never-do-well"
}

{
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "never",
      "never#English"
    ],
    [
      "do",
      "do#English"
    ],
    [
      "well",
      "well#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "never<pos:adv>",
        "3": "do<pos:v>",
        "4": "well<pos:adv>"
      },
      "expansion": "never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb)",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1664"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1664",
      "name": "etydate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more never-do-well",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most never-do-well",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "never-do-well (comparative more never-do-well, superlative most never-do-well)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Northeastern US"
      },
      "expansion": "(Northeastern US)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "nev",
        "er-do-well"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "ne'er-do-well"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "52 48",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Northeastern US English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "51 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "50 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ne'er-do-well."
      ],
      "id": "en-never-do-well-en-adj-lFM-jY55",
      "links": [
        [
          "ne'er-do-well",
          "ne'er-do-well#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "never-do-well"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Northeastern US English",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl/4 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "never",
      "never#English"
    ],
    [
      "do",
      "do#English"
    ],
    [
      "well",
      "well#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "never<pos:adv>",
        "3": "do<pos:v>",
        "4": "well<pos:adv>"
      },
      "expansion": "never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb)",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1664"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1664",
      "name": "etydate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "never-do-wells",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "never-do-well (plural never-do-wells)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Northeastern US"
      },
      "expansion": "(Northeastern US)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "nev",
        "er-do-well"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "ne'er-do-well"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ne'er-do-well."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ne'er-do-well",
          "ne'er-do-well#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "never-do-well"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English compound terms",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Northeastern US English",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl",
    "Rhymes:English/ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl/4 syllables"
  ],
  "etymology_links": [
    [
      "never",
      "never#English"
    ],
    [
      "do",
      "do#English"
    ],
    [
      "well",
      "well#English"
    ]
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "never<pos:adv>",
        "3": "do<pos:v>",
        "4": "well<pos:adv>"
      },
      "expansion": "never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb)",
      "name": "com"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1664"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1664",
      "name": "etydate"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From never (adverb) + do (verb) + well (adverb). First attested in 1664.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "more never-do-well",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "most never-do-well",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "never-do-well (comparative more never-do-well, superlative most never-do-well)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Northeastern US"
      },
      "expansion": "(Northeastern US)",
      "name": "tlb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "nev",
        "er-do-well"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "word": "ne'er-do-well"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of ne'er-do-well."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "ne'er-do-well",
          "ne'er-do-well#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northeastern",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "enpr": "nĕv′ər-do͞o-wĕl′"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.ə.duːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.duˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ə.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.ɐ.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnev.a.dʉːˌwel/",
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əɹ.dʉˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "Scotland"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈnɛv.əʳ.ɖuːˌwɛl/",
      "tags": [
        "India"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/cd/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Vealhurl-never-do-well.wav.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɛvə(ɹ)duːwɛl"
    }
  ],
  "word": "never-do-well"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-09-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-09-02 using wiktextract (1a05e46 and e3d6d4e). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.