unskilled en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ʌnˈskɪld/
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Germanic *un- Proto-West Germanic *un- Old English un- Middle English un- English un- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- Proto-Germanic *skilją Old Norse skilbor. Middle English skill English skill Old English -ed Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Germanic *-ōdaz Old English -od Middle English -ed English -ed English skilled English unskilled From un- + skilled.
Meanings
-
Of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training.
In the autumn there was a row at some cement works about the unskilled labour men. A union had just been started for them and all but a few joined.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 364:Set against the background of the American civil war, with Keaton a cunning but unskilled driver, unaided, of the ponderous giant of a locomotive, it remains not only probably the funniest film about railways ever made, but one of the funniest silent films to retain its comic power over today's more sophisticated audiences.
1958 February, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 88:
-
Of a job: not requiring skill or training.
The minimum hourly wage for construction workers has increased to NOK 250,30 per hour for skilled workers and NOK 226,90 for unskilled workers, with an additional rate of NOK 235,80 for unskilled workers with at least one year’s experience in the industry.
2024 November 4, Terese Eriksen Eldholm, “Norway increases minimum wage rates across key industries”, in Magnus Legal, archived from the original on 20 Jun 2025:
- Of a made object: inexpertly made or showing a lack of skill.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more unskilled | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most unskilled | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
Hypernyms
Relateds
unskilled person · inexperienced · unskillful · skill · unskilful
Synonyms
inexpert · miserable · unable · bad · unskillful · incapable · backwards · clumsy · ham-fisted · amateurish · unqualified · noob · ham-handed · ineffective · unprofessional · incompetent · inapt · maladroit · inept · bungling
Translations (22)
es sin cualificaciones (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · tr beceriksiz (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · es no especializado (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · el ανειδίκευτος (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · tr yeteneksiz (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · it incompetente (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · es inexperto (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · it inesperto (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · it sprovveduto (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · bg неквалифициран (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · hu segéd- (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · grc ἄτεχνος (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · eo mallerta (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · it imperito (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · bn বেওয়াকেফ (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · fi ammattitaidoton (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · tl asiwa (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · hu szakképzetlen (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · mi ninipa (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · it impreparato (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · ro necalificat (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training) · es inhábil (of a person or workforce: not having a skill or technical training)