1
as in inappropriate
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation
an inapt but well-meaning attempt to inject some humor into the proceedings
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
a recruit who was utterly inapt for most soldierly duties, so he spent most of his time playing in the army band
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inapt
The precedent is inapt, not least because the media landscape then was different with far fewer news sources.
—
The Wall Street Journal, Twin Cities, 25 July 2025
Beyond the application of arguably inapt legal and regulatory standards, technical and operational challenges may likewise hinder deAI adoption.
—Charlyn Ho, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
The result invites obvious yet not inapt comparisons to the work of Terrence Malick, but Bentley’s film—for all its crystalline imagery, its vision of Grainier’s home as a fallen Eden, and its air of metaphysical wonderment—unfolds in a more dramatically direct, compacted register.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
The visual flair peaks in the first episode, along with the series’ shallow, if not necessarily inapt, insight into life in this particular time and place.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
The Wall Street Journal, Twin Cities, 25 July 2025
Beyond the application of arguably inapt legal and regulatory standards, technical and operational challenges may likewise hinder deAI adoption.
—Charlyn Ho, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025
The result invites obvious yet not inapt comparisons to the work of Terrence Malick, but Bentley’s film—for all its crystalline imagery, its vision of Grainier’s home as a fallen Eden, and its air of metaphysical wonderment—unfolds in a more dramatically direct, compacted register.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025
The visual flair peaks in the first episode, along with the series’ shallow, if not necessarily inapt, insight into life in this particular time and place.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inapt
Adjective
-
This means exposing the shoulders, showing too much leg above the knees, or wearing clothing with crude or inappropriate imagery.—
Asia London Palomba,
Travel + Leisure,
25 Oct. 2025
-
Section 5 would've set new terms for challenging material that anyone may find inappropriate, and ultimately vest public local officials with the power to issue a final ruling on the dispute.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Meanwhile, Banks’ strained attempts to put Sarah on Zoë’s level leave Wilson stranded in a character unfit for the driver’s seat.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
29 Oct. 2025
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However, if temperatures fluctuate unpredictably, going below or above the average, all the low-var animals will be unfit and unable to pass on their genes.—
Shraddha Lall,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
This closeness causes gravitational instability that existing planetary formation models have suggested should result in an environment unsuitable for planet formation.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
27 Oct. 2025
-
They were placed there by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife after being deemed unsuitable for wild release.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
26 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The premise has the potential for slapstick silliness, as an incompetent Seoul family fumbles its way through opening a hunting lodge in the Korean countryside.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Lauren was also charged with misdemeanor battery and theft in June 2020, per online court records reviewed by PEOPLE; that case was discharged after she was found incompetent to stand trial.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Wild earned a power play for the incorrect challenge but couldn’t extend the lead to 2-0.—
Michael Russo,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
-
Trump has also mistakenly claimed that China and Russia are currently testing nuclear weapons and directed the incorrect agency — the Department of War — to resume testing rather than the Department of Energy, which oversees the nation’s nuclear warheads, Sanders-Zakre said.—
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
-
The venerable American clan at the center of the narrator’s reminiscences are wholly unfitted to the modern world and no longer endowed with the fortune that one of them brought home long ago on clipper ships.—
Daniel Akst,
WSJ,
2 Sep. 2022
Adjective
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Graf sided with a defense motion arguing the sheriff's office joint filing with the prosecution was procedurally improper, but did not make a decision about whether to issue a blanket ban on photography and video recording in the courtroom or hold certain hearings remotely.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
27 Oct. 2025
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Hospitals, according to the suit, submitted such claims and were the recipients of these improper payments.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Gilligan is probably incapable of saccharine.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
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In the final debate, Cuomo and Sliwa both attacked Mamdani for his stances on Israel and sought to portray him as incapable of addressing rising antisemitism to protect Jews, who account for about a tenth of New York City.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inapt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inapt. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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