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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
One of the most fraught issues around suicide clusters is unskillful media coverage, which studies suggest can spur copycats.
—Kate Siber, Outside Online, 4 Sep. 2018
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
One of the most fraught issues around suicide clusters is unskillful media coverage, which studies suggest can spur copycats.
—Kate Siber, Outside Online, 4 Sep. 2018
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
-
She was found incompetent to stand trial in April 2026 and was ordered to a state hospital, the FBI said.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
16 May 2026
-
Last month, Rodriguez-Singh was found incompetent to stand trial on a capital murder charge in the death of her son, and she will be remanded to a state mental health facility until her competency can be restored.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
15 May 2026
Adjective
-
The key with this inexperienced crew is patience.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
22 May 2026
-
When junior employees ask similar questions, it may be interpreted as being unprepared or inexperienced.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Adjective
-
Still, coaches worked to make the best of unfit practice locations and engage unsettled kids.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
-
All this while the federal government’s main tool for regulating medical software, the Food and Drug Administration’s device-approval process, is structurally unfit for regulating autonomous clinical AI.—
Alon Bergman,
STAT,
11 May 2026
Adjective
-
Set in the late 1980s, the movie is a New York micro-drama about a fellow named Jimmy George — an amateur performance artist who is battling AIDS, keeping the illness at bay with AZT.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
20 May 2026
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His 19-year-old son-in-law is an amateur heavyweight fighter.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
20 May 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
-
In an email to Krebs, Valadon claimed that the repo’s commit logs show that GitHub’s default protections against committing secrets—protections designed to protect unwitting or unskilled developers against exactly this kind of stupidness—had been disabled by the repo’s administrator.—
Lee Hutchinson,
ArsTechnica,
19 May 2026
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With the revision, unskilled workers in Noida will now earn approximately $147 per month, while semi-skilled and skilled workers will also see proportional increases.—
Mayu Saini,
Footwear News,
17 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Not that the Rays are incapable of putting the baseball off and over the wall.—
Tom Layberger,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2026
-
In a nutshell, Emilia resents her dad for decades of poor behavior, including a drinking problem that Martínez, who’s been sober for several years now, seems incapable of acknowledging.—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unskillful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskillful. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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