unfit

[uhn-fit]

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.

Origin of unfit

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

Related formsun·fit·ness, noun

Synonyms for unfit

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unfit ON THESAURUS.COM

1. inappropriate, unapt. 2. incapable.

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

Related Words for unfit

unhealthy, inappropriate, unsuitable, inadequate, unlikely, unsuited, useless, ill-equipped, ineligible, incapable, impotent, unable, unqualified, unprepared, down, dragging, mistaken, debilitated, incapacitated, bungling

Examples from the Web for unfit

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of unfit

With such deep yearning in his soul, he was unfit for heaven.
Other Tales and Sketches
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The unfit brought in for strength are weakness and destruction.
Weighed and Wanting
George MacDonald
When I discovered that I was unfit to hold that trust any longer, I quit.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
This craft was unfit for her duty, but time pressed, and no better offered.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
If there are yellow streaks in the lean of the bacon, it is rusty, and unfit to eat.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for unfit

unfit

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

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.