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
-
And these people in charge aren't just economically incompetent.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 May 2026
-
From an ideological standpoint, the new flag was introduced at the exact time the citizens of this state were just getting a grip on the outrageously incompetent management of the state’s money, dereliction that allowed billions of their tax dollars to be lost to fraud.—
Joe Soucheray,
Twin Cities,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
Maybe the bright lights of a win-or-go-home playoff game proved too big of a moment for a young, inexperienced Hawks team.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
-
Edmonton showed off its postseason poise in Game 5, throttling the Ducks in a 4-1 victory and putting the onus on their inexperienced opponents to finish off the series.—
Greg Beacham,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2026
Adjective
-
In October, the judge found that Conner was mentally unfit to testify in person at trial and allowed the recorded testimony, even though defense attorneys will not be able to cross-examine him in front of the jury.—
Grethel Aguila,
Miami Herald,
4 May 2026
-
More than two years later, the trial concluded with 25 of 28 defendants being found guilty (of those not found guilty, two had died during the trial and another was declared mentally unfit for trial).—
USA Today,
USA Today,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
The late stage of the investment cycle refers to the highly speculative period in which amateur buyers bid up securities, quietly offloaded by institutional investors, that precedes a downturn.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
6 May 2026
-
Louisville first baseman Tague Davis is making a late push for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur baseball player in the nation.—
Mitch Light,
New York Times,
4 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
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
In a rollicking monologue, Fry described all opera as comedy, tragedy merely being the result of idiotic egos incapable of levity.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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That means these kittens, in their very first hours and days of life, were physically incapable of generating their own heat.—
Hanna Wickes,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unskillful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unskillful. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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