1
as in incompetent
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
an unskillful editor can be worse than none at all
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inexperienced
lacking or showing a lack of expert skill
some painfully unskillful playing by the band's guitarist
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unskillful
It was intended to be a mockery of the way White people danced, though plantation owners often interpreted slaves' movements as unskillful attempts to be like them.
—
Scottie Andrew and Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 6 July 2020
As is often the case, Louie was unlucky — and also unskillful.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2017
Scottie Andrew and Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 6 July 2020
As is often the case, Louie was unlucky — and also unskillful.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unskillful
Adjective
-
Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
-
Although there are occasional car chases and shootouts and eventually an upsettingly high body count, its cops are not particularly competent (Lizzie, in fact, is notably incompetent, prone to freezing up at inopportune times), and its criminals not especially clever.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Since the election, Reform has tried to refashion itself from a protest vote party to one that could govern – untried and inexperienced, but ready to step in if the Labour Party buckles under its own blunders, and the once-mighty Conservatives drift further into political irrelevance.—
Christian Edwards,
CNN Money,
7 Sep. 2025
-
His emergence has enabled a talented, inexperienced team find its early identity.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
On the flip side, O’Regan said, physically fit people with obesity had a ‘younger’ cardiovascular age than unfit people.—
Kristen Fischer,
Health,
28 Aug. 2025
-
For instance, not spending time with the children, using overly harsh or inappropriate discipline, undermining the other parent’s authority or showing a lack of interest in the children’s lives can make a partner seem like an unfit parent, and consequently, an unfit partner.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The novel dials up the danger for the group of amateur detectives when an old friend from Elizabeth's (played by Mirren in The Thursday Murder Club movie) spy days comes back from her past.—
Christopher Rudolph,
People.com,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Szczerek is an amateur tennis player and competes in a local tennis league in Poland, The Times reported.—
Marni Rose McFall,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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
-
For the unskilled makeup amateurs among us, the face-sculpting technique of contouring is a little too intimidating.—
Jeanne Ballion,
Vogue,
7 Aug. 2025
-
When an unskilled injector offers up undereye filler, the more serious side effects can even include blindness or stroke.—
Kara Nesvig,
Allure,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Obviously, people online were incapable of being normal about this.—
Elizabeth Logan,
Glamour,
26 Aug. 2025
-
James Outman seems incapable of fielding a fly ball.—
Dan Hayes,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Unskillful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskillful. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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