unfit

American  

[uhn-fit] / ʌnˈfɪt /

adjective

1. not fit; not adapted or suited; unsuitable.

   He was unfit for his office.

   Synonyms:

   unapt, inappropriate

2. unqualified or incompetent.

   Synonyms:

   incapable

3. not physically fit or in due condition.

4. 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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to render unfit or unsuitable; disqualify.

unfit British  

/ ʌnˈfɪt /

adjective

1. unqualified, incapable, or incompetent

   unfit for military service

2. unsuitable or inappropriate

   the ground was unfit for football

3. in poor physical condition

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Other Word Forms

• unfitness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of unfit

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

Explanation

If someone is unfit, they're not qualified. You're unfit for a job as an ice cream truck driver if your only driving experience has been steering a bumper car at an amusement park. Farmland can be described as unfit for planting if it's been leached of nutrients, and a babysitter might be accused of being unfit if he gets distracted and loses track of his charges on the playground. In either case, the unfit thing or person doesn't meet the necessary requirements or standards. Another way to be unfit is to be out of shape or in poor physical condition. Fit can mean both "suitable" and "in good shape."

Example Sentences

Unfit for military service because of a heart ailment, he worked as a technical writer at a bomber factory in Burbank, Calif., in the later years of World War II.

From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2023

The words "Unsafe" and "Unfit for work" have been painted in red next the entrance.

From Reuters • Feb. 21, 2023

Unfit at the start of the 2021 season and pushed hard by Losada late in the campaign, United was constantly nursing soft-tissue injuries.

From Washington Post • Feb. 25, 2022

In their 2012 book Unfit for the Future: The Need for Moral Enhancement, they argued that people can—and should—overcome the limitations of their own moral psychology with the help of technology.

From Slate • Mar. 20, 2017

Unfit it seems that thou, O chief, Shouldst so afflict thy soul with grief, So with thou Sítá's heart consign To deep despair as well as mine.

From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)

Related Words

• ill-equipped
• impotent
• inadequate
• incapable
• ineligible
• unable
• unprepared
• unqualified
• useless