unfit

[ uhn-fit ]

/ ʌnˈfɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unfit ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not fit; not adapted or suited; unsuitable: He was unfit for his office.

unqualified or incompetent.

not physically fit or in due condition.

Biology. pertaining to an organism or population that is not adapted to prevailing conditions or is not producing offspring in sufficient numbers to maintain its contribution to the gene pool of the next generation.

verb (used with object)

to render unfit or unsuitable; disqualify.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

unfilial, unfilled, unfiltered, unfindable, unfinished, unfit, unfitted, unfix, unflagging, unflappable, unflapped

Origin of unfit

First recorded in 1535–45; un-¹ + fit¹

SYNONYMS FOR unfit

1 inappropriate, unapt.

2 incapable.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unfit ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·fit·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unfit

Du Pont, 57, was initially declared “actively psychotic” and unfit for trial by a judge, and ordered to a psychiatric hospital.
Foxcatcher’s Real-Life Psycho Killer|Marlow Stern|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1971, the local council declared it unfit for living, and evicted the occupants.
The Isle Where the Rolling Stones Began|Nina Strochlic|September 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And really, how can anybody claim that a 25-year-old is unfit to become Miss America?
24 Is Not Too “Old” to Compete for Miss America|Erin Cunningham|June 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The 1891 Immigration Act declared certain classes of individuals as unfit to become American citizens.
Ellis Island’s Doubled-Edged Legacy|J.P. O’Malley|May 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Modi, one suspects, will be in no hurry to visit the land that considered him unfit for entry only a short while ago.
Mr. Politically Correct Obama, Meet Your Opposite, India’s Mr. Modi|Tunku Varadarajan|May 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Observe how you unfit yourselves for all holy duties, and communion with God, while you cherish wrath and malice in your hearts.
A Christian Directory (Part 4 of 4)|Richard Baxter
Because the turn of his mind, and unacquaintance with the peculiarities of our dispositions, unfit him for it.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 59, No. 367, May 1846|Various
At one time more than two-thirds of the men were unfit for duty, a great many dying for the want of proper care.
Campaign of the Fourteenth Regiment New Jersey Volunteers|J. Newton Terrill
"That was acting a lie and telling one too; and anybody who would do so, is unfit to have the care of children," said Mildred.
Mildred Keith|Martha Finley
He says that I will unfit these children to occupy the position in life that God has called them to occupy.
Dear Enemy|Jean Webster

British Dictionary definitions for unfit

unfit

/ (ʌnˈfɪt) /

adjective

(postpositive often foll by for) unqualified, incapable, or incompetentunfit for military service

(postpositive often foll by for) unsuitable or inappropriatethe ground was unfit for football

in poor physical condition

Derived Formsunfitness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unfit

unfit

adj.

1540s, "not suitable" (in reference to things), from un- (1) "not" + past participle of fit (see fit (adj.)). Related: Unfitness. In reference to persons or human qualities, attested from 1550s. The verb meaning "to render unfit" is recorded from 1610s.