ineligible
Americanadjective
-
not eligible; not permitted or suitable.
Employees are ineligible in this contest.
- Synonyms:
- unsuitable
-
legally disqualified to hold an office.
-
legally disqualified to function as a juror, voter, witness, etc., or to become the recipient of a privilege.
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ineligible
Explanation
To be ineligible is to not qualify for something. When you're eligible for something — like a contest — you are allowed to enter. Being ineligible is the opposite; it means that you can't enter or participate in something. After a certain age, children are ineligible for playing Little League baseball. Students below a certain grade point average are ineligible for scholarships. People born outside the United States are ineligible to run for President. If you want to know who's eligible and ineligible for something, check the rules or laws.
Vocabulary lists containing ineligible
Set, Hut! Football Vocabulary
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American Football, 3rd Quarter
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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.
He’s growing up after once being academically ineligible.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026
My question is whether that additional income would make him ineligible for SSI, assuming he would even agree to apply for public assistance in the first place.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Under the Tory proposals, ineligible tenants would be expected to move out of their homes within six months.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
But arbitrators don’t often throw out ineligible claims.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
No one knows exactly how many people are excluded from public housing because of criminal records, or even the number of people with criminal records who would be ineligible if they applied.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
