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
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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
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
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But an unlikely story is bubbling up in the nation as Chinese fans cheer on unlikely amateur soccer players – from delivery drivers to villagers – now playing in packed stadiums back home in a rare sign, some believe, that the Beautiful Game may finally be taking root in the nation.—
Reagan Yip,
CNN Money,
3 June 2026 -
For his senior season and recognition as a top draft prospect, Emerson was named a semifinalist for the 2026 Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s top amateur baseball player.—
Charles Baggarly,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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The team overachieved this season partly because Mazzulla turned an inexperienced supporting cast into a strength.—
Jay King,
New York Times,
28 May 2026
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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
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Democrats have never run against a candidate like Ken Paxton that is so corrupt that his own party impeached him.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
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Our lame-duck governor is happily corrupt and no longer answerable to Floridians.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
30 May 2026
Noun
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School kids arrived on field trips and groups lined up for exhibitions, taking the escalators up past the abstract artist Julie Mehretu’s vibrant, 83-foot-tall vertical window.—
Jacqui Palumbo,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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Bell-to-bell phone bans are among the strategies proposed in a new Surgeon General's advisory warning of the threat excessive screen time can pose to kids.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
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The Bawah Survivor programme has a beginner-level escape room/scavenger hunt up to an advanced level, where guests can overnight in the open on the outer islands.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
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Zone 2 is still well-suited for beginners, older adults, and injury recovery.—
Allison Palmer
June 2,
Charlotte Observer,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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One night in April when the boy playing Orlando was home sick and Jamie was waiting for Adele in their private coital chamber, Bromley kept her late to work on the scene where Orlando courts Rosalind playing Ganymede playing Rosalind.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
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Recently, she’s begun to feel physically sick due to everything going on in her life and is sharing with us that she’s been struggling with getting up, eating and other simple, everyday things.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
1 June 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Jackleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jackleg. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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