ineligible

[in-el-i-juh-buhl]

adjective

1. not eligible; not permitted or suitable.

   Employees are ineligible in this contest.

   Synonyms: unsuitable

2. legally disqualified to hold an office.

3. legally disqualified to function as a juror, voter, witness, etc., or to become the recipient of a privilege.

noun

1. a person who is ineligible, as a suitor or team member.

ineligible

/ ɪnˈɛlɪdʒəbəl /

adjective

1. not fit or qualified

   ineligible for a grant

   ineligible to vote

noun

1. an ineligible person

Other Word Forms

• ineligibility noun
• ineligibleness noun
• ineligibly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineligible¹

First recorded in 1760–70; in- ³ + eligible

Example Sentences

His post came 24 hours after a joint statement of rugby's leading nations warned that any player deciding to participate in R360 would make them "ineligible for international selection".

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It’s only being gay that makes someone a criminal—and, presumably, ineligible for the benefits of the vaunted warrior ethos.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

On Monday, the administration took the first step toward debarring Harvard from receiving federal funds through a process that could declare it ineligible to do business with the government.

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New Caledonians—including those currently ineligible to cast ballots in local elections—are automatically French citizens and entitled to vote in national elections, just as if they lived in mainland France.

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New Caledonians, including those currently ineligible to cast ballots in local elections, are automatically French citizens and entitled to vote in national elections, just as if they lived in mainland France.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• unavailable 
• unfit 
• unqualified 
• unsuitable