"worklessness" meaning in English

See worklessness in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Etymology: Etymology tree English workless Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English worklessness From workless + -ness. Etymology templates: {{ety|en|:af|workless|-ness|text=+|tree=1}} Etymology tree English workless Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English worklessness [Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*-atjaną", "lang" : "gem-pro" }, { "id" : "nominative", "children" : [ { "terms" : [ { "id" : "action noun", "children" : [ ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-Indo-European", "term" : "*-tus", "lang" : "ine-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*-þuz", "lang" : "gem-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "keyword" : "from" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*-assuz", "lang" : "gem-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "is_group" : true, "keyword" : "affix" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-Germanic", "term" : "*-inassuz", "lang" : "gem-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Proto-West Germanic", "term" : "*-nassī", "lang" : "gmw-pro" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Old English", "term" : "-nes", "lang" : "ang" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "status" : "ok", "lang_name" : "Middle English", "term" : "-nesse", "lang" : "enm" } ], "keyword_label" : "Inherited from", "keyword" : "inherited" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "-ness", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" } ], "keyword_label" : "From", "is_group" : true, "keyword" : "affix" } ], "lang_name" : "English", "term" : "worklessness", "status" : "ok", "lang" : "en" }" data-lang="en" data-title="worklessness"> From workless + -ness. Head templates: {{en-noun|-}} worklessness (uncountable)
  1. (UK) The state of being without paid work. Tags: UK, uncountable Synonyms: joblessness, unemployment, unwork
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              43,
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          ],
          "ref": "2009 January 16, Libby Brooks, “Generation Crunch need more than just McJobs”, in The Guardian:",
          "text": "The majority come from circumstances where worklessness is embedded, and placements need to incorporate some element of mentoring if these individuals are to develop the life skills necessary to sustain a career.",
          "type": "quotation"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The state of being without paid work."
      ],
      "id": "en-worklessness-en-noun-Fmn-tSNU",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK) The state of being without paid work."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "joblessness"
        },
        {
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        },
        {
          "word": "unwork"
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      ],
      "tags": [
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  "word": "worklessness"
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          "ref": "2009 January 16, Libby Brooks, “Generation Crunch need more than just McJobs”, in The Guardian:",
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      "glosses": [
        "The state of being without paid work."
      ],
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        "(UK) The state of being without paid work."
      ],
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          "word": "joblessness"
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          "word": "unwork"
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      "tags": [
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    }
  ],
  "word": "worklessness"
}

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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 2026-06-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-06-01 using wiktextract (e79dea5 and 7f4db16). 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.

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