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Glite Dictionary
unathletic

unathletic

1 4.2
Not good at sports or exercise
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌnəˈθlɛtɪk/
translation icon : no atlético
  • I was a frequent victim of bullies in boyhood—tall, gangly, myopic, unathletic.

Examples

  • As a child, he felt self-conscious about being unathletic compared to his sporty friends.

  • As weak, unathletic boys, they made a place for themselves in high school by being funny, especially if they mocked themselves.

    Academic text (2002)

  • She had a graceful, determined, somehow unathletic way of walking.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Clara struggled with gym class because she was always considered unathletic by her classmates.

  • Even though she was unathletic, she still tried her best during the school sports day.

Synonyms

nonathletic
vsunathletic
4.3

Not good at or interested in sports

focuses only on lacking physical skills and sport abilities
nonsporting
vsunathletic
4.9

Not interested in sports and not good at exercise

means lacking physical skills and abilities rather than mere disinterest

Antonyms

athletic
267 2.8

Physically strong, fit, or good at sports

fit
91 1.0

Being in good physical and mental health

How Athletic

athletic
267 2.8
fit
91 1.0
average
∞ 1.0
unathletic
1 4.2
clumsy
73 1.2

Surface Forms

unathletic positive

Morphology

unathletic = athletic (transparent) = un + athletic

The meaning is a direct productive negation of 'athletic' by the common prefix 'un-', so learners who know 'athletic' can readily infer 'unathletic'.

Etymology

Unathletic is made of the small part un- meaning 'not' and athletic, which comes from athlete meaning 'someone who does sports'. So unathletic describes a person who is 'not' strong or skilled in sports or physical activity.