jackleg 1 of 2

adjective

ˈjak-ˌleg How to pronounce jackleg (audio)
Definition of jacklegnext
1
as in amateur
being such only for recreation a toolshed that can be built by any jackleg carpenter who's capable of hitting a nail without smashing his thumb

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2
as in inexperienced
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill he did such a jackleg installation of that door frame that now the door won't shut

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards a jackleg lawyer whose clients consist mainly of drug dealers and child molesters

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jackleg

2 of 2

noun

as in kid
a person who lacks experience and competence in an art or science you can't rely on a bunch of jacklegs to run your dairy farm

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for jackleg
  1. amateur
  2. inexperienced
  3. corrupt
  4. kid
  5. degraded
  6. beginner
  7. sick
Adjective
  • Nearly a third of the stocks held by amateur traders are also held by hedge funds and other quintessentially aggressive pros, a record share.
    — RUCHIR SHARMA, Foreign Affairs, 13 Oct. 2026
  • In the last few months, sea creatures such as whale and hammerhead sharks, devil rays, wahoos and other fish species have been seen by beachgoers and amateur anglers from Orange County to Malibu.
    — Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of amateur
Adjective
  • These experienced and skilled athletes, who are often 22 or 23 years old, are appealing to coaches, especially when compared with inexperienced and physically less developed freshmen.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Hafley also cautioned against placing the sole blame on Willis, who started just the 11th game of his career and is leading a young offense with mostly inexperienced receivers who are still developing chemistry.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of inexperienced
Adjective
  • Many Palestinians view it as corrupt and criticize its security cooperation with Israel.
    — Sam Metz, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Journalist Christiane Amanpour, who stepped out for the occasion in a red jacquard pantsuit by Derek Lam, echoed Clooney’s focus on providing protection for those relentlessly working to hold corrupt systems accountable.
    — Christie Grimm, Vogue, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Noun
  • Everyone thinks their kids’ slang is ridiculous and their parents’ politics naive.
    — Eugenie Brinkema, ARTnews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Mitt reminds me of these famous sports dads — Earl Woods, Richard Williams, Marv Marinovich — who put a golf club or tennis racket or football in their kids’ cribs.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of kid
Adjective
  • Design choices previously thought to boost power, such as widening the gap between electrodes, actually degraded performance under true operating conditions.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Initially, Pike’s attorneys and several death penalty experts raised the possibility that the drugs may have been too old or degraded to work as intended.
    — Keri Blakinger, ProPublica, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of degraded
Noun
  • Nine out of 10 beginner guitarists are not playing one year after picking up the instrument, so catering to those newbies meant a lot of churn, Dalporto says.
    — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2026
  • Build a complete beginner kit with wax, wicks, vessels, labels, and other necessary supplies.
    — Ethan Stone October 9, Idaho Statesman, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of beginner
Adjective
  • The goats’ dire situation first came to light when a former dairy employee raised concerns after witnessing emaciated and sick animals on the property, the former employee told the Idaho Statesman last year.
    — Sally Krutzig, Idaho Statesman, 16 Oct. 2026
  • What’s interesting is that Conan Doyle got sick of writing Sherlock Holmes.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of sick
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

jackknives
jackleg
jacklegs
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Cite this Entry

“Jackleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jackleg. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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