Word.ws English Dictionary

no better than one ought to be

no better than one ought to be adjective: sexually promiscuous.

Adjective

no better than one ought to be (comparative form only)

  1. (comparative-only, dated, euphemistic) Sexually promiscuous.
    • There were no whisperings, even from his opponents, that he was no better than he ought to be. Because, there was nothing wrong on which to hang a charge. As an eloquent orator, he carried with him the firm support of a good name.1848, The American Pulpit, volume 3, page 120
    • After dinner she went directly to Melissa.
      “Mellie,” she said, “do you know, I've good reason for thinking this woman you've got is no better than she ought to be. Think of that, and you sick, and Abraham exposed to temptation.”1867, Caroline Fairfield Corbin, A Woman's Secret, page 162
    Synonyms:
    promiscuous

Synonyms of no better than one ought to be

Questions about no better than one ought to be

What does no better than one ought to be mean?
No better than one ought to be means sexually promiscuous.
What part of speech is no better than one ought to be?
No better than one ought to be is an adjective.

Words near no better than one ought to be in the dictionary

  1. no balling
  2. no balls
  3. no battle plan survives contact with the enemy
  4. no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy
  5. no because
  6. no better than one ought to be
  7. no big deal
  8. no big whoop
  9. no big woop
  10. no biggie
  11. no bigs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: no better than one ought to be (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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