inappropriatein‧ap‧pro‧pri‧ate /ˌɪnəˈprəʊpri-ət $ -ˈproʊ-/ ●●○ AWL adjective 
His comments were wholly inappropriate on such a solemn occasion.it is inappropriate (for somebody) to do something It would be inappropriate for me to comment until we know more of the facts.inappropriate for an inappropriate gift for a childinappropriate to marketing techniques that are totally inappropriate to educationinappropriate behaviour/response/language etc—inappropriately adverb: inappropriately dressed—inappropriateness noun [uncountable]—inappropriacy noun [uncountable]
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A poster showing a nude woman is wholly inappropriate for the office.
- Any strike you as particularly inappropriate?
- Clark said it would be inappropriate to comment on his relationship with Beier.
- For Mr Johns an incorrect diagnosis led to inappropriate treatment.
- If such discriminations are appropriate to birds, why should they be inappropriate in the case of men?
- May contain some material parents consider inappropriate for young children.
- Such language would be quite inappropriate if applied to the typical civil law system.
- The acts, implying possession in one case, may be wholly inappropriate to prove it in another.
- The organizer of the mailing list monitors the discussion, ejects troublesome members and blocks inappropriate messages.
THESAURUS
not having the right qualities for a particular person, purpose, or situation: · These toys are not suitable for children under 3.· The job was considered unsuitable for women.· Some dogs end up in totally unsuitable homes.
not suitable for a particular situation or purpose – used especially about someone’s behaviour or language: · Slang is not appropriate in an academic essay.· Never reward inappropriate behaviour.· It would not be appropriate for us to comment at this stage.
not the right thing or person for a particular job or purpose: · You’re using the wrong spoon – this is the soup spoon.· She was simply the wrong person for the job.
[not before noun] not looking or seeming suitable for that place or situation: · The horse drawn carriage looks a little out of place among the busy traffic.· At first I felt a bit out of place.
two ideas or things that are incompatible cannot exist or be done together. Two people who are incompatible are unlikely to have a successful relationship, because they have very different characters, beliefs etc: · He considered the role of wife and mother to be incompatible with a career.· Why do totally incompatible people get married?
formal seeming strange and unsuitable, often in a humorous way, because of being unexpected in a particular situation or very different from its surroundings: · It seemed incongruous having a dance-band at the funeral.· He was dressed in a three-piece suit with an incongruous tie shaped like a fish.
an inconvenient place or time is not suitable and causes problems for you: · He always seems to call at inconvenient times.· The new station is inconvenient to pedestrians, because it is a long walk from the centre of town.
not suitable to be used for something, or not suitable to do something: · The boat is not only unfit to live in but is actually unsafe.· The meat was declared unfit for human consumption (=not suitable to eat).· He claims she is an unfit mother.· A jury decided Pryse-Jones was unfit to stand trial at court because of his mental illness.· The house was unfit for human habitation (=not suitable to live in).
Longman Language Activatornot suitable for a particular purpose, person, or situation · We never planted roses here because the climate isn't suitable.· The strict laws forbid women to read "unsuitable material."unsuitable/not suitable for · The road is not suitable for heavy vehicles.· The movie contains violence and is unsuitable for children.
formal not suitable for a situation or purpose - use this especially about something that has been done or chosen without enough care or thought: · This is not an appropriate use of taxpayers' money.· I thought his remarks were inappropriate on such a serious occasion.inappropriate/not appropriate for: · The court found that the sex-education brochures were inappropriate for eighth-grade students.it is inappropriate/not appropriate (for somebody) to do something: · It's completely inappropriate for the President to get so involved in a local issue like this.
not having the qualities or characteristics that are needed for a particular purpose or situation: · The tomatoes didn't grow because they're unsuited to the soil here.· Her outfit was completely unsuited to the tropical climate.
not the right one for a particular job or purpose: · You're using the wrong spoon - this is the soup spoon.· I think you picked the wrong time to call her.wrong for: · His brand of nationalism is wrong for our party and wrong for the country.
use this when it is completely the wrong time or place in which to do something, or the person doing it is a completely unsuitable person: · This is hardly the place to talk about your sexual problems.· I know it's hardly the moment to tell you, but I've quit my job.· This little man was hardly the kind of person you'd expect to be in charge of an international gun-smuggling scheme.
not good enough for a particular purpose, especially when someone has officially decided this: unfit/not fit for: · The land is so polluted it is not fit for crops.unfit for human consumption/habitation (=not fit for humans to eat or live in): · The meat was declared unfit for human consumption.unfit/not fit to do something: · Her uncle was mentally unstable and unfit to raise a child.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY His comments were wholly inappropriate on such a solemn occasion.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
not suitable or right for a particular purpose or in a particular situation OPP appropriatewholly/totally/completely etc inappropriate His comments were wholly inappropriate on such a solemn occasion. formal (=suitable/not suitable for that situation)· Within the official school framework there are penalties for inappropriate behaviour.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· But those arguments were expressed at a time when their implications were seen as inappropriate, unrealistic or unacceptable by many managers.· After a brief debate in the parliament, his scheme was dismissed as inappropriate.· The name Mad Axe is about as inappropriate as anyone could imagine.
· Topocide is an emotional issue; quantitative research procedures were clearly inappropriate.· The entrepreneurial definition is clearly inappropriate here.· It is clearly inappropriate to involve Julie in a prolonged conversation as soon as she arrives on the ward.· If the agreement is clearly inappropriate or fails to reflect what has already been agreed, this can be counter-productive.· The patient's engagement in such exploration may sometimes be facilitated by including a clearly inappropriate possibility that he can easily reject.
· Parallels with Simon de Montfort, the Valence and Joinville families are not entirely inappropriate.· But I also know that a word which is acceptable in the locker room can be entirely inappropriate for the classroom.· It was entirely inappropriate, but she couldn't help herself.· Such immunity would be entirely inappropriate in the case of an operating lease.· Nor is the dragon entirely inappropriate in a story relating to a king supposedly descended from a sea-monster.
· Such language would be quite inappropriate if applied to the typical civil law system.· It has cloaked it in pedantic, complicated, incomprehensible language which is also quite inappropriate.· Indeed, it seems that in some cases an interpretation in terms of emphasis is quite inappropriate.· Here one is dealing with social situations which are relatively unexplored and where sample surveys may be quite inappropriate.
· Ireland, with inflation above 6 %, has negative real interest rates, which is totally inappropriate.· Nothing would destroy her - least of all these totally inappropriate emotions for a man who had brought her nothing but misery.· Fine for a static Dalek, but totally inappropriate for a mobile machine.
· The acts, implying possession in one case, may be wholly inappropriate to prove it in another.· Quite apart from questions of sample size and representativeness, this particular aggregation is wholly inappropriate.· Chief Inspector Davina Logan described the sentence as wholly inappropriate.· The same terms are used to describe very different products and some terms are wholly inappropriate.· Many of the burdensome covenants inserted in the former kind of lease will be wholly inappropriate to the latter.· One of these is the notion of detachment between professionals and clients which is wholly inappropriate in teaching.· For them the demand to draft or revise a long story would be wholly inappropriate.· One need hardly dwell on the catastrophic possibility of uttering a bantering remark only to discover it wholly inappropriate.
NOUN· These feelings of being out of control can lead to inappropriate behaviour - maybe submissive behaviour.· Within the official school framework there are penalties for inappropriate behaviour and the pupils acknowledge, at least, its theoretical structure.· The negative consequences of inappropriate behaviour should be predictable to the child: he/she should know what to expect.· Get the child to practise positive behaviours which are physically incompatible with the inappropriate behaviour.· Not allowing any form of inappropriate behaviour.
· Our door is painted a bright green colour with numerous messages using inappropriate language and phrases covering its exterior.
· Teenagers often make inappropriate responses to conflicts such as aggression, withdrawing, sulking, tantrums or destructive behaviour.· All allergies are inappropriate responses by the body's immune system to a substance which is not normally harmful.
· An inappropriate use of the Legal Adviser's skills.· Any of the following options would effectively reduce inappropriate use than would any technical change in legislation.· The issues are not about inappropriate use of authority nor are they about the display of heroics.· This then raises the question as to what is the inappropriate use of an acute hospital bed?· The environmental groups cite a number of examples of inappropriate use of the funds.
His comments were wholly inappropriate on such a solemn occasion.it is inappropriate (for somebody) to do something It would be inappropriate for me to comment until we know more of the facts.inappropriate for an inappropriate gift for a childinappropriate to marketing techniques that are totally inappropriate to educationinappropriate behaviour/response/language etc—inappropriately adverb: inappropriately dressed—inappropriateness noun [uncountable]—inappropriacy noun [uncountable]