Lacking gumption; lacking initiative, enterprise, courage, or common sense; without drive or ambition.
From 'gumption' (initiative and courage) plus the suffix '-less,' meaning 'without' or 'lacking.' The origin of 'gumption' itself is mysterious—possibly from Scottish or dialectal English sources.
Despite 'gumption' being a very American-sounding word, its actual origin is murky and possibly Scottish—it perfectly describes the can-do spirit Americans admire, even though nobody knows where the word came from originally.
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