unemployedadj.n.
/ˌʌnᵻmˈplɔɪd/, /ˌʌnɛmˈplɔɪd/, U.S. /ˌənᵻmˈplɔɪd/, /ˌənɛmˈplɔɪd/ 1. Not put to use; not applied to some end or purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > non-use > [adjective]
unused1398
uncorea1400
unoccupied?a1439
unspendedc1440
unspent1466
undispendeda1483
untouched1538
unexpended1571
spared1580
fallow1588
unemployed1600
untasted1609
unenjoyed1643
unhandled1826
unutilized1868
inutilized1874
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique ii. iii. 205 Wherefore it behooueth that the vnimploied or fallow ground..be first well cleansed from stones.
1665 Orders Ld. Mayor London in D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year (1722) 53 Till their Coaches..have stood unemploy'd by the Space of five or six Days after such Service.
1748 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 16 Feb. (1932) (modernized text) III. 1103 Every moment may be put to some use, and that with much more pleasure than if unemployed.
1826 W. Kirby & W. Spence Introd. Entomol. III. 363 The real instrument of suction, which when unemployed is retracted within the tubulet.
1882 F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads I. Advt. p. vii No becoming means has been left unemployed.
2.
a. Not engaged in any work or occupation; idle; spec. temporarily out of work.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > lack of work > [adjective] > not working or unemployed
servicelessc1450
unlabouredc1450
masterless1471
unwrought1550
unplaced1558
labourless1576
flag-fallen1609
unlabouring1619
disemployed1651
hireless1651
unengaged1654
unemployed1667
unworking1696
untoiling1748
workless1758
occupationless1822
placeless1828
out of work1833
non-working1841
unhired1852
jobless1862
out of (or in) collar1862
non-employed1876
spare1919
on the beach1923
in dry dock1927
off-the-job1950
on (also upon) the street(s)1980
unwaged1981
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 617 Other Creatures all day long Rove idle unimploid, and less need rest. View more context for this quotation
1677 A. Yarranton England's Improvem. 61 Admit there be in England and Wales a hundred thousand poor people unimployed.
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber vii. 133 I remember him three times, for some Years, unemploy'd in any Theatre.
1824 L.-M. Hawkins Annaline I. 40 Being unemployed they amused themselves and others with conjectures.
1862 J. Ruskin Unto this Last iii. 100 The vexed question of the destinies of the unemployed workmen.
1887 St. James's Gaz. 22 Dec. 4/1 Persons who are unemployed because they are unemployable.
b. absol. or as n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > one who does not work > [noun] > collectively
unemployed1782
jobless1913
society > occupation and work > worker > one who does not work > [noun]
vacant1602
outler1786
idleman1832
non-producer1840
unworker1843
non-worker1851
non-employed1876
out of work1883
out-of-worker1894
unemployed1900
unwaged1981
UB401983
1782 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur Lett. from Amer. Farmer viii. 212 The means of procuring subsistence in Europe are limited..the manufacturer is overcharged with supernumerary hands; what then must become of the unemployed?
1817 T. Bernard Supply of Employment & Subsistence for Labouring Classes 28 Our sea~coasts would swarm with adventurous fishing boats; new means of employment would be afforded to the..unemployed.
1882 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 May 3/2 The genuine total abstainers among the unemployed.
1900 H. Lawson On Track 108 Here I've been mooning round like an unemployed for three weeks.
c. Pertaining to, connected with, unemployed persons.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > lack of work > [adjective]
out of work1833
labourless1845
unemployed1854
out-of-employment1898
1854 J. H. Stocqueler Hand-bk. Brit. India (ed. 3) 49 During this interval he draws the unemployed salary of three hundred rupees per mensem.
1895 Daily News 19 Aug. 5/2 Twenty-four per cent. of its 10,000 members received unemployed benefits.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1600