unskilled
adjective
un·skilled
ˌən-ˈskild 
1
: not skilled in a branch of work : lacking technical training
an unskilled worker
2
: not requiring skill
unskilled jobs
3
: marked by lack of skill
produced unskilled poems
Examples of unskilled in a Sentence
an unskilled handling of the facial features in the portrait explains why it is attributed to “school of Velázquez” and not to the master himself
hired unskilled workers because they would work for lower wages
Recent Examples on the Web
In contrast to many European countries, for instance, whose modern histories of immigration go back to the mid-twentieth century, Japan has not accepted generations of unskilled workers from poor, developing countries or adopted formal guest-worker programs.
—
Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
No army in history seemed ever to have been more ragged and motley and mongrel and polyglot than the Continental, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, from boys to old men, skilled and unskilled, born all over the world, speaking dozens of languages, believing in different gods and in no god.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The network also reported female health workers saying that their newer colleagues were likely to be unskilled women who came from Taliban-loyal families.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is too big and unskilled, a downstream consequence of buying into the fiction that Davis is a power forward.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
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Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
No army in history seemed ever to have been more ragged and motley and mongrel and polyglot than the Continental, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, from boys to old men, skilled and unskilled, born all over the world, speaking dozens of languages, believing in different gods and in no god.
—Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The network also reported female health workers saying that their newer colleagues were likely to be unskilled women who came from Taliban-loyal families.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is too big and unskilled, a downstream consequence of buying into the fiction that Davis is a power forward.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Cite this Entry
“Unskilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unskilled. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
unskilled
adjective
un·skilled
ˌən-ˈskild
ˈən-
1
: not skilled
especially
: not skilled in a branch of work : lacking mechanical training
an unskilled worker
2
: not requiring skill
unskilled jobs
3
: marked by lack of skill
an unskilled painting
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