as in out of work
having no job
the plant closings left a significant portion of the town's population unemployed
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Recent Examples of unemployed
His mother was working two jobs and his father, a longtime alcoholic who was often unemployed, was careening toward disaster.
—
Keith O'Brien, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2026
There are today, hundreds of newly unemployed journalists, great minds with free time.
—Jennifer Lutz, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Their advice for the millions of young unemployed people who just can’t seem to catch a break?
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
Related Stories Dunja, an unemployed teacher and single mom, is trying to reconstruct her life while coping with her abusive ex-husband Kemo, who’s in prison.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
Keith O'Brien, Rolling Stone, 22 Feb. 2026
There are today, hundreds of newly unemployed journalists, great minds with free time.
—Jennifer Lutz, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Their advice for the millions of young unemployed people who just can’t seem to catch a break?
—Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 19 Feb. 2026
Related Stories Dunja, an unemployed teacher and single mom, is trying to reconstruct her life while coping with her abusive ex-husband Kemo, who’s in prison.
—Anna Marie De La Fuente, Variety, 17 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unemployed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unemployed
jobless
Adjective
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The Labor Department’s report Thursday showed that the four-week moving average of jobless claims, which balances some of the week-to-week volatility, ticked up by 750 to 220,250.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Eighty-one percent of Black 16- to 19-year-olds in Chicago were jobless in 2024, according to a recent report from the University of Illinois Great Cities Institute.—
Willie Wilson,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unemployed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unemployed. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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