unprofessional

adjective

un·​pro·​fes·​sion·​al ˌən-prə-ˈfesh-nəl 

-ˈfe-shə-nᵊl

: not exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, or generally businesslike manner in the workplace : not professional

unprofessional attire

unprofessional comments

Synonyms

• amateur
• amateurish
• dilettante
• dilettantish
• inexperienced
• inexpert
• jackleg
• nonprofessional
• unskilled
• unskillful

Examples of unprofessional in a Sentence

an unprofessional carelessness about the accuracy of the news story

Recent Examples on the Web

The offscreen feud became public in August 2016, when Johnson shared a social media post, which has since been deleted, that mentioned that some of his male costars had been unprofessional. —Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 6 Jan. 2025

In its latest report on Chinese military power, the Pentagon accused China of using unsafe and unprofessional measures against ships of other claimant nations. —Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024

Bold colors, graphics, fonts, or formats can also be confusing and look unprofessional. —Sho Dewan, Forbes, 28 Dec. 2024

Methanol can be an unintended byproduct of unprofessional distillation. —Rod McGuirk, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

unprofessional

adjective

un·​pro·​fes·​sion·​al

ˌən-prə-ˈfesh-nəl,

-ən-ᵊl

: not professional

especially : not up to the standards of one's profession

unprofessionally

-ē

adverb