1
as in inexperienced
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill
an unskilled handling of the facial features in the portrait explains why it is attributed to "school of Velázquez" and not to the master himself
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in incompetent
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
hired unskilled workers because they would work for lower wages
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unskilled
No army in history seemed ever to have been more ragged and motley and mongrel and polyglot than the Continental, rich and poor, learned and illiterate, from boys to old men, skilled and unskilled, born all over the world, speaking dozens of languages, believing in different gods and in no god.
—
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The network also reported female health workers saying that their newer colleagues were likely to be unskilled women who came from Taliban-loyal families.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is too big and unskilled, a downstream consequence of buying into the fiction that Davis is a power forward.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Lane change issues, road debris or an unskilled driver are all quickly visible in the rear-view mirror with a tap on the accelerator.
—James Raia, Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 10 Nov. 2025
The network also reported female health workers saying that their newer colleagues were likely to be unskilled women who came from Taliban-loyal families.
—NPR, 14 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is too big and unskilled, a downstream consequence of buying into the fiction that Davis is a power forward.
—John Hollinger, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
Lane change issues, road debris or an unskilled driver are all quickly visible in the rear-view mirror with a tap on the accelerator.
—James Raia, Mercury News, 21 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unskilled
Adjective
-
The president has directed the department to pursue his personal enemies and has replaced career DOJ employees with inexperienced MAGA loyalists, sometimes to the detriment of his own agenda.—
Will Gottsegen,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Even on a good day, the area is not for the inexperienced.—
Elizabeth Wolfe,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But, at some point this season, the Dodgers will lose a handful of games in a row, or lose six out of seven, and might look incompetent doing it.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The issue was not that Butler was incompetent in his job; quite the opposite.—
Missy Ryan,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Co-created and hosted by Tyra Banks, the reality competition in which amateur beauties vied for the titular title and a modeling contract, among other prizes, ran for 24 seasons on three different networks (UPN, The CW, VH1) between 2003 and 2018.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
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The show has been done by dozens of theaters around the state, from professional productions at such places as Seven Angels Theatre and UConn’s Connecticut Repertory Theatre to amateur productions put together by community theaters or groups of local musicians.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The running back suffered ligament tears while dislocating his ankle, which resulted in a compound wound and replays unfit for television.—
Ryan Morik,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
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The Department of Homeland Security has disputed accusations of unfit conditions.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
11 Feb. 2026
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
Adjective
-
Bird seemed to be torn between Indiana and Indiana State, a small program that was playing in the hinterlands of Division I basketball, in danger of being banished to Division II, about to fire its head coach, and incapable of filling its new arena in Terre Haute.—
Keith O'Brien,
Rolling Stone,
22 Feb. 2026
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The detention center already expanded its RISE capacity restoration program to deal with defendants who are incapable of proceeding.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unskilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskilled. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
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