unqualified
Americanadjective
-
not qualified; not fit; lacking requisite qualifications.
unqualified for the job.
- Synonyms:
- incompetent, unfit
-
not modified, limited, or restricted in any way; without reservations.
unqualified praise.
- Synonyms:
- unmitigated
-
absolute; complete; out-and-out.
an unqualified liar.
adjective
-
lacking the necessary qualifications
-
not restricted or modified
an unqualified criticism
-
(usually prenominal) (intensifier)
an unqualified success
Related Words
See absolute.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unqualified
Explanation
If you're unqualified for something, you're not cut out to do it, often because you don't have the skills or knowledge you need. A dog trainer is most likely unqualified to perform brain surgery. The adjective unqualified is good for describing someone who isn't fit for a task or job. You wouldn't want an unqualified dentist to fill your cavity, and an unqualified babysitter might not even know how to change a diaper or put a bandage on a scraped elbow. Another way people can be unqualified is when they lack some necessary document — you're unqualified to teach in a public school, for example, without a state teaching certificate.
Vocabulary lists containing unqualified
United States v. Nixon (1974)
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Roe v. Wade (1973)
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On Liberty
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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.
The right to change religion is unqualified by its nature, but the right to try to change someone’s religion can’t be unqualified without interfering with and violating others’ religious freedom.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. rated him as unqualified for office, one of only three candidates across all races to receive the designation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
This stuff is all absolutely appalling, and it is an unqualified good that she’ll be out the door.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
“To call Jeremy Carl a radical and a bigot and unqualified is all far too kind,” Schumer said on Monday on the Senate floor.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2026
But she finally accepted it as an unqualified fact because no one shared her doubts.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
