unfit

adjective

ˌən-ˈfit How to pronounce unfit (audio)
Definition of unfitnext
1
as in unfitted
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job just because I don't have actual work experience doesn't mean I'm unfit for the job

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unsuitable
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation those flimsy shoes are unfit for the hike we're about to take

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of unfit Perhaps the hawks will realize that their preferred policy was wrong, that regime change by airpower was impossible, and that Trump was unfit to lead in the first place. — Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026 There are worse strategies, but perhaps the unfit 18-year-old can’t do it all himself. — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 17 June 2026 Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the governor’s wife, said the investigation showed that Trump is unfit for office. — Sophie Austin, Fortune, 15 June 2026 His ensuing words were unfit for inclusion in this story. — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 14 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for unfit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unfit
  1. unfitted
  2. unsuitable
  3. incompetent
  4. inappropriate
  5. incapable
  6. improper
  7. unable
  8. wrong
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
Definition of unfitted
Adjective
  • More than half that land is owned by the district but is unsuitable for farming.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
  • Planting fruit trees in unsuitable spots may not just produce a poor harvest but could spell disaster for the tree.
    — Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2026
Definition of unsuitable
Adjective
  • Offensive guru Brian Daboll was pretty incompetent as the Giants’ coach and hit the bricks, and in walks Super Bowl winning coach John Harbaugh.
    — Vic Tafur, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • This show is about scheming, the weight of the crown, and incompetent brats who want to scheme to get their hands on the crown.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 6 July 2026
Definition of incompetent
Adjective
  • There has been some opposition, including from the Mauthausen Committee, Austria’s main Holocaust survivors’ group, which has argued both that a police station is inappropriate and that more should be done to draw attention to Hitler’s crimes.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
  • State auditors found in 2018 that $700K in voucher money being spent on cosmetics, clothing, and other inappropriate items.
    — Peter Greene, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of inappropriate
Adjective
  • Salman Rushdie has declared that artificial intelligence has no role to play in literature, cinema or storytelling of any kind, dismissing the technology as fundamentally incapable of originality.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 8 July 2026
  • The statute does not require that the beneficiary be incapable of all meaningful activity.
    — James Lange, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of incapable
Adjective
  • An improper diagnosis can trail a child through their school years, Fombonne said, but a different, underlying condition the person might have—such as depression and anxiety—might go untreated.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026
  • An independent committee investigating the cause of Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades heard arguments on how improper practices that evaded regulatory oversight turned a small fire into a tragedy as the case neared its conclusion Friday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 July 2026
Definition of improper
Adjective
  • The Liberty were unable to find much offensive success after the break.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • Some Facebook and Instagram users are reporting international outages, leaving them unable to access their feeds, according to two internet watchdogs and a CNN check of the platforms.
    — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
Definition of unable
Adjective
  • First, the medals were the wrong colour; this was the ‘Bronze Final’ after all.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 19 July 2026
  • That turned out to be wrong for a meaningful minority of them, whose brains were generating signals our methods were not sensitive enough to pick up.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 July 2026
Definition of wrong

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Cite this Entry

“Unfit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unfit. Accessed 24 Jul. 2026.

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