underqualified

adjective

un·​der·​qual·​i·​fied ˌən-dər-ˈkwä-lə-ˌfīd How to pronounce underqualified (audio)
: lacking sufficient qualifications (such as adequate education and experience) for a particular job, assignment, etc.
an underqualified candidate
… if entrants are greatly underqualified academically, new curricula will be required.—Julian C. Stanley

Examples of underqualified in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
While Pete Hegseth seemed like an underqualified pick for secretary of defense, that alone is not sufficient to damn his tenure. — Joseph Palange, Washington Post, 18 Nov. 2025 Despite the fact that Bradley’s father had promised Linda a promotion to VP, Bradley hands the role to his underqualified frat brother instead. — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 30 Jan. 2026 Florida landed in the bottom five states for all three categories, is the lowest for adjusted teacher salaries, and, as covered by the next category, has the highest percentage of underqualified teachers. — Peter Greene, Forbes.com, 16 June 2026 Students in these high-needs schools — many of whom are historically underserved Black and Latino students — are twice as likely to be taught by underqualified teachers compared with those in the highest-income schools. — Valentyna Banner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for underqualified

Word History

First Known Use

1624, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of underqualified was in 1624

Rhymes for underqualified

See All Rhymes for underqualified

Browse Nearby Words

underpublicized
underqualified
underquote
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Underqualified.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/underqualified. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All