Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Out of work, especially involuntarily; jobless.
  • adjective Not being used; idle.
  • noun People who are involuntarily out of work considered as a group. Used with the.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not employed; having no work or employment.
  • Not in use: as, unemployed capital or money.
  • Not accompanied with work or employment.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not employed in manual or other labor; having no regular work.
  • adjective Not invested or used.
  • adjective (Economics) actively seeking employment but unable to find a suitable job.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having no profession (despite being able and willing to work).
  • adjective Having no use, not doing work
  • noun Unemployed people.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun people who are involuntarily out of work (considered as a group)
  • adjective not engaged in a gainful occupation

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ employed

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Examples

  • My proposal of personal responsibility for the unemployed is absolutely Republican-compatible, and it once was compatible with Democratic thinking.

    Kyl calls for job creation 2010

  • With 1-in-6 Americans out of work and a labor force growing at one percent per year, a large number of long-term unemployed is likely.

    Robyn Greenspan: 2010 World Business Forum: Al Gore's Slides Can Save the Planet Robyn Greenspan 2010

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

  • He thinks the best way to help the long-term unemployed is to allow private citizens to invest in local companies that can create more jobs.

    Unemployed Americans Search for 'Lifeline' Until Jobs Return 2010

  • He thinks the best way to help the long-term unemployed is to allow private citizens to invest in local companies that can create more jobs.

    Unemployed Americans Search for 'Lifeline' Until Jobs Return 2010

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

  • Building on the current public system for the short term unemployed, a fully scaled, market-driven long term unemployment system would, at minimal cost to taxpayers, provide workers with a new tool to prepare for episodes of prolonged joblessness.

    Trooper Sanders: Reinventing Unemployment Insurance Trooper Sanders 2012

Comments

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  • Thankfully, I'm not anymore.

    December 14, 2006