unprofessional
Americanadjective
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not professional; not pertaining to or characteristic of a profession.
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at variance with or contrary to professional standards or ethics; not befitting members of a profession, as language, behavior, or conduct.
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not belonging to a profession; nonprofessional.
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not done with professional competence, as a play staged or an opera performed by amateurs; amateurish.
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Sports. nonprofessional.
noun
adjective
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contrary to the accepted code of conduct of a profession
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amateur
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not belonging to or having the required qualifications for a profession
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unprofessional
First recorded in 1800–10; un- 1 + professional
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gould said there were "some instances" that the ECB regarded as "significantly unprofessional".
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026
Foreign policy analysts would normally consider distraction to be a lazy and unprofessional explanation for major actions like wars, if not a symptom of paranoid conspiracy thinking.
From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026
Lakers star Luka Doncic was fined $50,000 on Tuesday for directing an “inappropriate and unprofessional gesture toward a game official” during the Lakers’ win over the New York Knicks on Sunday, the NBA announced.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
“Allow your boss to be the unprofessional one,” she says.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 28, 2026
I could hear my voice, how unprofessional it sounded.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
