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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jackleg
Adjective
-
Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 amateur draft is held virtually and limited to five rounds.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 June 2026 -
At its core, a musical note is a repeating vibration, says Mark van Raamsdonk, a physics professor at the University of British Columbia and an amateur jazz musician.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
10 June 2026
Adjective
-
The team overachieved this season partly because Mazzulla turned an inexperienced supporting cast into a strength.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
-
Short selling can be an intellectually demanding approach to the market, and many inexperienced traders fall into a trap, lured by overvaluation and hype.—
David Capablanca,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
Adjective
-
Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, in the 1990s.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
7 June 2026
-
Of course, all of this convenient acquiescence will sound familiar in the United States, where our own Congress and Department of Justice have been nothing if not servile to a brazenly corrupt executive.—
Daniel Alarcón,
New Yorker,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In that year in the United States the number of lost kids had dropped to just over two per hundred.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Children might get a teepee tent and toys, while older kids might have cards, board games, boogie boards, or a volleyball net.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
Adjective
-
Even when degraded, enzymes have stable backbones that might be capable of catalyzing reactions, said Sudha Rajamani, an astrobiologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune who wasn’t involved in the study.—
Siddhant Pusdekar,
Quanta Magazine,
1 June 2026
-
According to the company, QTT enables highly secure and resilient position, navigation, and timing (PNT) services, helping maintain accurate timing and synchronization even when traditional GPS and radio-frequency signals are unavailable, degraded, or intentionally jammed.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Then be sure to check out our beginner's guide to photographing the night sky, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
9 June 2026
-
Best baseball glove This glove and ball set is the perfect set for beginners.—
BestReviews,
Chicago Tribune,
9 June 2026
Adjective
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One daycare worker had also called in sick that morning and another child was on the way.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
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The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an investigation notice and public health advisory on Thursday, June 4, after eight people became sick across three states.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Jackleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jackleg. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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