underprepared

adjective un·der·pre·pared \ ˌən-dər-prə-ˈperd \

|Updated on: 1 Jun 2018

Definition of underprepared

: inadequately prepared

Recent Examples of underprepared from the Web

Many experts agree that the United States remains underprepared for a pandemic or a bioterrorism threat.

— the washington post, OregonLive.com, "Bill Gates calls on US to lead fight against a pandemic that could kill 33 million," 27 Apr. 2018
As children are especially underprepared to respond to violent threats, someone else must step up.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Is arming teachers a good way to improve school safety?," 6 Apr. 2018
State auditors also found the agency is woefully underprepared to deal with a major disaster.

— gordon r. friedman, OregonLive.com, "Former official claims sex discrimination, lies, obstruction at Oregon military agency in $4 million suit," 30 Jan. 2018
Early-childhood educators are hard to come by and consistently underprepared, so a Denver child-care provider is trying to change things with a new in-house training model.

— rosa inocencio smith, The Atlantic, "The Atlantic Daily: After Charlottesville," 14 Aug. 2017
That number would not include those schools that game the system without committing bonafide infractions, pushing underprepared players through the system in a cynical, exploitative charade.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "UCLA quarterback speaks truth to student-athlete myth | Tim Sullivan," 10 Aug. 2017
Because our colleges annually produce the overwhelming majority of racially underprepared industry leaders in the U.S., most of whom are white, higher education helps sustain racial inequity and injustice in our nation.

— shaun r. harper, Fortune, "How Higher Education Is Bad for America," 13 July 2017
Mr. Mangano was apparently underprepared for his court date — or, perhaps, utterly defiant.

— vivian yee, william k. rashbaum and arielle dollinger, New York Times, "Nassau County Executive Is Arrested in Bribery Scheme," 20 Oct. 2016
The recent political earthquakes have found us intellectually and emotionally underprepared, even helpless.

— pankaj mishra, The New Yorker, "Václav Havel’s Lessons on How to Create a “Parallel Polis”," 8 Feb. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'underprepared.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.