inexpert

American  

[in-eks-purt, in-ik-spurt] / ɪnˈɛks pɜrt, ˌɪn ɪkˈspɜrt /

adjective

1. not expert; unskilled.

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inexpert British  

/ ɪnˈɛkspɜːt /

adjective

1. not expert; unskilled or unskilful; inept

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Other Word Forms

• inexpertly adverb
• inexpertness noun

Etymology

Origin of inexpert

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word inexpertus. See in- ³, expert

Explanation

If you're inexpert at something, you haven't been taught to do it, and you can't do it very well. An inexpert painter might spatter paint all over your wood floors and furniture. Being inexpert at some activity means you don't have much practice doing it. It takes an inexpert knitter a lot longer to finish a hat than one with experience, and an inexpert driver is still learning the rules of the road. If you're an expert, you're a professional with skill and knowledge, from the Latin root word expertus, "tried, proved, or known by experience." When you add the "not" prefix in-, you get inexpert.

Example Sentences

Animal advocates are also concerned that these lions could be inbred as a result of poorly managed, inexpert breeding programs.

From National Geographic • Aug. 8, 2023

That exposed a fact that the post-civil war triumphalism and lavish spending had papered over: He and his family were inexpert stewards of the government, especially on economic issues.

From New York Times • May 29, 2022

Science and our own inexpert judgement are all we have to rely on as we navigate what I hope will be the final chapter of this long ordeal.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2022

So until I can get back there to visit, I'll raise a glass with my friends on this side of the continent, and replicate a Zuni meal in my own rushed and inexpert way.

From Salon • Jun. 23, 2021

From the rear, where he always sat, having read somewhere that the seat next to the driver was the most dangerous, he watched his mother’s wild and inexpert shifting with disapproval.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole