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
Meanwhile, the women faced with that pool of socially unskilled men have largely been overlooked.
—
Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
Complex negotiations in large organizations often fail—not because the negotiators are inexperienced or unskilled but because they’re constrained by two structural challenges, agency and alignment, and by the ways organizations manage those challenges.
—Danny Ertel, Harvard Business Review, 8 Dec. 2025
In contrast to many European countries, for instance, whose modern histories of immigration go back to the mid-twentieth century, Japan has not accepted generations of unskilled workers from poor, developing countries or adopted formal guest-worker programs.
—Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 17 Jan. 2026
Complex negotiations in large organizations often fail—not because the negotiators are inexperienced or unskilled but because they’re constrained by two structural challenges, agency and alignment, and by the ways organizations manage those challenges.
—Danny Ertel, Harvard Business Review, 8 Dec. 2025
In contrast to many European countries, for instance, whose modern histories of immigration go back to the mid-twentieth century, Japan has not accepted generations of unskilled workers from poor, developing countries or adopted formal guest-worker programs.
—Gracia Liu-Farrer, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unskilled
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
-
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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This approach seemed common when authorities were uninterested or incompetent.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
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Court records from an earlier criminal case show Parker had previously been found mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered to a state hospital for treatment.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
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
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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 unfit-father comedy was a staple, dating back to Three Men and a Baby being the highest-grossing movie of 1987.—
Ryan Gajewski,
HollywoodReporter,
28 May 2026
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What should be used as a safeguard against an unfit or abusive president has instead become a routine mechanism for resolving political conflict.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
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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
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This is an open society that the Islamic Republic of Iran is structurally incapable of being.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
27 May 2026
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Last season, when City won just 11 of 31 games in all competitions and often looked physically incapable of playing a full 90 minutes, Guardiola felt under pressure again.—
Sam Lee,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unskilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskilled. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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