unsuitable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unsuitable
Explanation
Something that's unsuitable doesn't work well or is out of place. A kitchen knife is unsuitable for sawing firewood. You can use the adjective unsuitable to describe something that isn't well suited for a use: flip flops are unsuitable shoes to wear in a blizzard. It's also a good word for something that's disappointing or undesirable: "No, that guy in the clown suit would be a completely unsuitable boyfriend for me." At the root of unsuitable is the meaning of suit, "be agreeable or convenient," that's thought to come from "provide a suit of clothes."
Vocabulary lists containing unsuitable
"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov
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Stuart Little
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Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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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 added that the site is "fundamentally unsuitable" because of the impact on "transport and accessibility" and that the development "would destroy part of the historic Frimley Common."
From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026
"Abandonment wasn't because the site became ecologically unsuitable in any absolute sense. Bison were still around, vegetation hadn't changed, and there was no substantive shift in fire activities," Wendt pointed out.
From Science Daily • Jun. 11, 2026
That proves infeasible when he realizes, amid heavy snowfall, that the first stretch, Massachusetts’ 34-mile Johnny Appleseed Trail, is not a forest path but a paved highway unsuitable for pedestrians.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026
"The roadmap that Vietnam is aiming for is unsuitable."
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
Then she has the nerve to tell me that my plain taffeta dress is unsuitable for the Tropicana.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
