UNEMPLOYED Synonyms: 7 Similar and Opposite Words

unemployed

adjective

ˌən-im-ˈplȯid

Definition of unemployed

as in out of work

having no job the plant closings left a significant portion of the town's population unemployed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of unemployed Jones was regularly unemployed throughout the relationship, which began in the fall of 2023, according to state prosecutors in Tarrant County. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026 One of the newly unemployed is Olivia Siffre (Rachel Keller), a fledgling lawyer who recently moved to California to get away from her hovering, hyper-religious parents. — Noel Murray, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026 More than a dozen garment units at Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur shuttered as a result, leaving some 40,000 workers unemployed. — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026 This year, for example, Beijing ordered that unemployed university graduates be offered vocational training. — The Monitor's Editorial Board, Christian Science Monitor, 8 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unemployed

Recent Examples of Synonyms for unemployed

jobless

Adjective

When a degree still guaranteed a lower jobless rate, a few years tending bar after graduation was a detour.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2026
Joe Raedle | Getty Images Employers continue to hold onto workers even as hiring remains weak, sending weekly jobless claims to around their lowest levels in records that stretch back nearly six decades.

— Jeff Cox, CNBC, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of jobless

Browse Nearby Words

unemployable

unemployed

unemployment

See all Nearby Words

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Style

“Unemployed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unemployed. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of unemployed

adjective

Example Sentences

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