unskillfulness
Roget category 699
5. Words relating to the voluntary powers› 5.3. Voluntary action
›› 5.3.2. Complex voluntary action
#699.
Unskillfulness
noun
unskillfulness
etc.
adj. —
want of skill
etc.
698 —
incompetence,
incompentency† —
inability,
infelicity,
indexterity†,
inexperience —
disqualification,
unproficiency† —
quackery.
folly,
stupidity
etc.
499 —
indiscretion
etc.
(rashness)
863 —
thoughtlessness
etc.
(inattention)
458
(neglect)
460 —
sabotage.
mismanagement,
misconduct —
impolicy† —
maladministration —
misrule,
misgovernment,
misapplication,
misdirection,
misfeasance —
petticoat government.
absence of rule,
rule of thumb —
bungling
etc.
v. —
failure
etc.
732 —
screw loose: too many cooks.
blunder
etc.
(mistake)
495 —
etourderie gaucherie [Fr.],
act of folly,
balourdise† —
botch,
botchery† —
bad job,
sad work.
sprat sent out to catch a whale,
much ado about nothing,
wild-goose chase.
bungler
etc.
701 —
fool
etc.
501.
verb
be unskillful
etc.
adj. —
not see an inch beyond one's nose —
blunder,
bungle,
boggle,
fumble,
botch,
bitch,
flounder,
stumble,
trip —
hobble
etc.
275 —
put one's foot in it —
make a mess of,
make hash of,
make sad work of —
overshoot the mark.
play tricks with,
play Puck,
mismanage,
misconduct,
misdirect,
misapply,
missend.
stultify oneself,
make a fool of oneself,
commit oneself —
act foolishly —
play the fool —
put oneself out of court —
lose control,
lose control of oneself,
lose one's head,
lose one's cunning.
begin at the wrong end —
do things by halves
etc.
(not complete)
730 —
make two bites of a cherry —
play at cross purposes —
strain at a gnat and swallow a camel
etc.
(caprice)
608 —
put the cart before the horse —
lock the stable door when the horse is stolen
etc.
(too late)
135.
not know what one is about,
not know one's own interest,
not know on which side one's bread is buttered —
stand in one's own light,
quarrel with one's bread and butter,
throw a stone in one's own garden,
kill the goose which lays the golden eggs,
pay dear for one's whistle,
cut one's own throat,
bum one's fingers —
knock one's head against a stone wall,
beat one's head against a stone wall —
fall into a trap,
catch a Tartar,
bring the house about one's ears —
have too many eggs in one basket
(imprudent)
863,
have too many irons in the fire.
mistake
etc.
495 —
take the shadow for the substance
etc.
(credulity)
486 —
bark up the wrong tree —
be in the wrong box,
aim at a pigeon and kill a crow —
take the wrong pig by the tail,
get the wrong pig by the tail,
get the wrong sow by the ear,
get the dirty end of the stick —
put the saddle on the wrong horse,
put a square peg into a round hole,
put new wine into old bottles.
cut blocks with a razor —
hold a farthing candle to the sun
etc.
(useless)
645 —
fight with a shadow,
grasp at a shadow —
catch at straws,
lean on a broken reed,
reckon without one's host,
pursue a wild goose chase —
go on a fool's goose chase,
sleeveless errand —
go further and fare worse —
lose one's way,
miss one's way —
fail
etc.
732.
adjective
unskillful
etc.
698 —
inexpert —
bungling
etc.
v. —
awkward,
clumsy,
unhandy,
lubberly,
gauche,
maladroit —
left-handed,
heavy-handed —
slovenly,
slatternly —
gawky.
adrift,
at fault.
inapt,
unapt —
inhabile [Fr.] —
untractable†,
unteachable —
giddy
etc.
(inattentive)
458 —
inconsiderate
etc.
(neglectful)
460 —
stupid
etc.
499 —
inactive
etc.
683 —
incompetent —
unqualified,
disqualified,
ill-qualified —
unfit —
quackish —
raw,
green,
inexperienced,
rusty,
out of practice.
unaccustomed,
unused,
untrained
etc.
537,
uninitiated,
unconversant
etc.
(ignorant)
491† —
shiftless —
unstatesmanlike.
unadvised —
ill-advised,
misadvised —
ill-devised,
ill-imagined,
ill-judged,
ill-contrived,
ill-conducted —
unguided,
misguided —
misconducted,
foolish,
wild —
infelicitous —
penny wise and pound foolish
etc.
(inconsistent)
608.
phrase
one's fingers being all thumbs —
the right hand forgets its cunning —
il se noyerait dans une goutte d'eau [Fr.] —
incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare incidit in Scyllam qui vult vitare Charybdim [Lat.] —
out of the frying pan into the fire —
non omnia possumus omnes [Lat.]
[Vergil].
The content on this page comes straight from Project Gutenberg Etext of Roget's Thesaurus No. Two, which consists of the acclaimed work by Peter Mark Roget augmented with more recent material. Some changes were made to the formatting for improved readability.
Bold numbers signify related Roget categories. A dagger symbol (†) indicates archaic words and expressions no longer in common use.
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