Inexperienced

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɪnəkˈspɪəɹi.ənst/

Definitions

1. Lacking the knowledge, skill, or practice that comes from having done something before
2. Lacking sufficient exposure, skill, or knowledge that would normally be gained through experience in a particular area or activity
3. Not possessing the requisite background, familiarity, or proficiency acquired from prior involvement or practice in a given context

Etymology: The English prefix "in-" (meaning "not") is one of the oldest building blocks in the language, descending from the same Proto-Indo-European root that gave Latin its negating prefix "in-", which English took in directly and attached to a host of words. "Inexperienced" is simply that prefix joined to "experienced," so the word is a transparent compound: a negation of a participle-style adjective built from "experience" plus the "-ed" ending. The base word "experience" came into English from Latin "experientia," meaning trial or proof, from "experiri," to try. That sense of testing something by doing it is still visible in the adjective: to be inexperienced is to have not yet been put to the test, not yet tried in the situation at hand.

Synonyms: unskilled, novice, green, naive, unfamiliar

Antonyms: experienced, skilled, proficient, expert, seasoned