unfit

[ uhn-fit ]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to render unfit or unsuitable; disqualify.

unfit

/ ʌnˈfɪt /

adjective

1. postpositiveoften foll byfor unqualified, incapable, or incompetent

   unfit for military service

2. postpositiveoften foll byfor unsuitable or inappropriate

   the ground was unfit for football

3. in poor physical condition

Derived Forms

• unˈfitness, noun

Other Words From

• un·fitness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of unfit¹

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

Example Sentences

They’ve also mounted their own effort to remove board Chair Juanita Miller, who they say is unfit to lead and ignited the controversy in the first place.

From Washington Post

Ben Ali, the prime minister in 1987, himself had assumed the presidency by getting doctors to declare then-President Habib Bourguiba medically unfit to rule.

From Ozy

Menstruation in 19th-century England was referred to as being “unwell,” and women were thought to be unfit for work, exercise, social activities or intellectual effort during the week or so each month that a period lasted.

From Washington Post

When his parents divorced, his dad gained custody and his mom was legally declared unfit to parent as she turned to alcohol while struggling with anxiety and depression.

From Washington Post

He is “unfit to continue in his current role,” the statement said of Parros.

From Washington Post

Du Pont, 57, was initially declared “actively psychotic” and unfit for trial by a judge, and ordered to a psychiatric hospital.

From The Daily Beast

In 1971, the local council declared it unfit for living, and evicted the occupants.

From The Daily Beast

The panelists then proceed to screen out anyone they deem unfit for marriage.

From The Daily Beast

And really, how can anybody claim that a 25-year-old is unfit to become Miss America?

From The Daily Beast

The 1891 Immigration Act declared certain classes of individuals as unfit to become American citizens.

From The Daily Beast

I always maintain that our women are of immense service to us, but many of them are physically unfit.

From Project Gutenberg

To his other iniquities Black Sheep had now added a phenomenal clumsiness—was as unfit to trust in action as he was in word.

From Project Gutenberg

But in the organic world there is no such thing as the "fit" or the "unfit," in any higher or moral sense.

From Project Gutenberg

But today—after that terrible ordeal, she felt as if life held little for her, that she was now unfit to perform any womanly duty.

From Project Gutenberg

Never smoke when the pores are open: they absorb, and you are unfit for decent society.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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