as in unsuitable
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation
a bathing suit is inappropriate dress for strolling the streets of this seaside village
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inappropriate
Sanger police were notified in November that Demello allegedly had an inappropriate relationship with a student at Sanger ISD, according to police.
—
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2026
This is a distinct category from the Mile-High Clubbers, whose lewdness is much more inappropriate.
—Christopher Elliott, Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
Clearly, Michigan needed to fix the scandal-scarred hangover of the Jim Harbaugh era, ending with the firing of Sherrone Moore for having an inappropriate relationship with a young staffer.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The federal search heightened scrutiny of the case, which centers on allegations that Busfield engaged in inappropriate contact with 11-year-old twin boys who worked as child actors on The Cleaning Lady.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inappropriate
Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Jan. 2026
This is a distinct category from the Mile-High Clubbers, whose lewdness is much more inappropriate.
—Christopher Elliott, Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026
Clearly, Michigan needed to fix the scandal-scarred hangover of the Jim Harbaugh era, ending with the firing of Sherrone Moore for having an inappropriate relationship with a young staffer.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026
The federal search heightened scrutiny of the case, which centers on allegations that Busfield engaged in inappropriate contact with 11-year-old twin boys who worked as child actors on The Cleaning Lady.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inappropriate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inappropriate
Adjective
-
Soils that are high in peat moss are unsuitable for citrus trees.—
Derek Carwood,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Jan. 2026
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These tests, though frequently used in Denmark as part of child protection investigations, were criticized as inappropriate and unsuitable for the people of Greenland and other minorities.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Typically, the inspector general investigates schemes defrauding Medicare, improper payments -- such as to insurance companies to cover Medicaid members who had died -- and whether states are doing adequate oversight of providers in their borders.—
Meg Wingerter,
Denver Post,
6 Jan. 2026
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Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg is also looking into the issue, initially identifying nearly 1,000 potentially improper PPP loans involving city employees.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Duplicate collections, wrong dates, incorrect creditor names or accounts listed as unpaid when they were settled are all valid reasons to file a dispute.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
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The problem of incorrect citations and false legal statements, which attorneys suspect were written by AI tools, appears to be growing, said Felix De La Torre, general counsel for PERB.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The candidacy challenge contends that Wilcox used the wrong form to file for office in December and left off information that was required.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2026
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An Amazon driver accompanied by her 16-year-old son came under fire after accidentally stopping at the wrong house in rural North Carolina, according to investigators.—
Mark Price,
Charlotte Observer,
13 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This is a no-win situation because one of us will end up unhappy.—
Jeanne Phillips,
Mercury News,
9 Jan. 2026
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The automaker spent much of the year undoing decisions made by the previous CEO, Carlos Tavares, who resigned at the end of 2024, as stakeholders in the company — from dealers to union rank and file — were upset with him and unhappy with his leadership.—
Liam Rappleye,
USA Today,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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To receive one of these designations from a doctor in this era was to be marked as unfit for society and a candidate for potential institution and sterilization.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
6 Dec. 2025
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Families of victims, human rights defenders and international bodies such as the UN have criticized the commissions for a lack of transparency, for being ineffective and ultimately unfit for delivering accountability.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
30 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Sure, pundits and Twitter philosophers love to portray bowl games as irrelevant relics of the past that nobody cares about anymore.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
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The characters are lying, to themselves and to each other, but the role of the audience in believing or not believing their lies is totally irrelevant.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inappropriate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inappropriate. Accessed 18 Jan. 2026.
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