unskillfully

adverb

as in poorly

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unskillfully
  1. poorly
  2. ineptly
  3. inefficiently
  4. incompetently
  5. artlessly
Adverb
  • Owens not only lacked an undergraduate degree but did poorly in school, where she was described as a hopeless case.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The researchers are now incorporating F³ into autonomous drones designed to navigate cluttered and poorly lit environments.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of poorly
Adverb
  • The collapse of the Constitution’s balance of powers between three branches of government got us into an unneeded war conducted ineptly.
    — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Dancing the Poznan really ineptly, mind you, but dancing nonetheless.
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Definition of ineptly
Adverb
  • In our own polling of 200 chief executives at the Yale CEO Summit in June 2025, 40% said AI hype has led to overinvestment, and more than 40% admitted that AI investments have been allocated inefficiently.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 28 Oct. 2026
  • For instance, Chancellor Kamar Samuels admitted that more than 200 schools now have fewer than 200 students each, inefficiently driving up per pupil costs past $50,000 a child — money that could be used better elsewhere in the system.
    — Ciara Jackson, New York Daily News, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of inefficiently
Adverb
  • Clinicians should be working to support us, not fumbling incompetently or making paternalistic determinations.
    — Meg LeDuc, STAT, 23 Sep. 2026
  • As was mentioned in your editorial, the Broward school district has been incompetently managed, wasteful and corrupt for years.
    — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of incompetently
Adverb
  • Lines that seem artlessly off-the-cuff on first pass accrue an unexpected weight and purpose the fourth time through; the countrified guitar lick that sounds so chipper at the start of a song is dripping with melancholy by the end.
    — Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 4 June 2026
Definition of artlessly
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Unskillfully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskillfully. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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