as in impromptu
made or done without previous thought or preparation
an obviously unprepared acceptance speech by the surprise winner
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Recent Examples of unprepared
Advertisement Yet most companies remain woefully unprepared.
—
Bobby Ghosh, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
The Cengage report added that nearly half of recent college graduates felt unprepared to enter the workforce.
—Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
In the menopause section, four out of five women reported feeling unprepared for menopause, while 35% reported not knowing what menopause was.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 16 Jan. 2026
That was followed by a Zoom-style video that felt like it was never meant to leave Takis headquarters, showing employees reviewing early (and comically unprepared) candidates.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unprepared
Bobby Ghosh, Time, 18 Jan. 2026
The Cengage report added that nearly half of recent college graduates felt unprepared to enter the workforce.
—Mark Temnycky, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026
In the menopause section, four out of five women reported feeling unprepared for menopause, while 35% reported not knowing what menopause was.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 16 Jan. 2026
That was followed by a Zoom-style video that felt like it was never meant to leave Takis headquarters, showing employees reviewing early (and comically unprepared) candidates.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 15 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unprepared
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unprepared
Adjective
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But such impromptu races weren’t unknown at the time.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
27 Jan. 2026
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Some stood on large metal dumpsters that blocked all traffic, banging on them, while others gave speeches at the growing impromptu memorial for Pretti, who was a 37-year-old ICU nurse at a VA hospital.—
Jack Brook,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Isa gives a behind-the-scenes account of an at-times improvised process on a tight deadline.—
John Wilkerson,
STAT,
20 Jan. 2026
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For the 60-minute monologue, which started as an improvised homage for the artist’s retrospectives at the Brooklyn Museum and MOCA Los Angeles 20 years ago, Smith sets out to help audience members get a deeper sense of the young man behind the myth.—
Karu F. Daniels,
New York Daily News,
15 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Worse, perhaps, leadership in moments of upheaval requires a certain theatricality and improvisational creativity that establishment Republican politicians tend to lack.—
Walter Russell Mead,
The Atlantic,
24 Jan. 2026
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The bigger concern is the improvisational contributions from Nix — big scrambles, off-platform throws, odd-angle deliveries — have been a significant part of an offense that has struggled at times to hang its hat on anything else consistently.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unprepared.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unprepared. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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