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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of unskilled
Women worked as domestics; men served as unskilled laborers, canal diggers and later as mill workers across the river.
—
Paula Kane,
The Conversation,
13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Paula Kane,
The Conversation,
13 Mar. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for unskilled
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unskilled
Adjective
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Over the same period, entry-level head count at the high-intensity firms rose 12%, contradicting predictions and fears that young or inexperienced workers would be most at risk of losing their jobs to AI.
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Immer and Lois work with land stewards to find projects that make sense for eager but often inexperienced volunteers.
Adjective
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Her Volumnia bellows at her meek daughter-in-law, Virgilia (Justine Faith) as though reprimanding an incompetent private.
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One of the lasting side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and our catastrophically incompetent response to it is the decrease in trust in public health experts and their advice.
Adjective
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The award is handed out to the most outstanding amateur baseball player in the nation.
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Now in its eighteenth year, the international competition celebrates the skill and imagination of amateur and professional astrophotographers from across the world.
Adjective
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If venue personnel deem any person to be a threat, or otherwise unfit, in their sole discretion, he or she will not be permitted access and shall forfeit the prize.
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She was deemed unfit to stand trial on medical grounds.
Adjective
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Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.
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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.
Adjective
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Court documents show prosecutors accused Fontes of rape a victim incapable of giving consent because of the effect of alcohol, drugs, or other substances.
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For most of his career, Huang has seemed constitutionally incapable of standing still.
Cite this Entry
“Unskilled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskilled. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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