unprepared

adjectiveB1+Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,897 of 15,258neutral

Unprepared means caught without the readiness the moment demands. Caught unprepared, wholly unprepared, unprepared for the question.

It takes for. It covers the readiness, the skill and the kit alike, which is why it is so useful in a report: saying a team was unprepared says something went wrong before the day rather than on it.

Definitions of unprepared

1adjectiveunpreparedCaught without the readiness, the skill, or the kit the moment demands.B1+
“I was completely unprepared for the exam and couldn't answer a single question.”

unprepared is a state.

Where it comes from

From un- + prepared.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

unprepared in the wild

Michael Asen I of Bulgaria attempted to conquer land taken by the Empire of Nicaea, but the advance of Theodore II Lascaris caught the Bulgarians unprepared.
Battle of Adrianople (1254)
Hidden crevasses have led to the deaths of unprepared tourists.
Athabasca Glacier
Shooters accustomed to firearms requiring trigger activation for discharge may be unprepared for a slamfire discharge.
Slamfire
When his father al-Kamil, nephew of Saladin, died in 1238, al-Adil II followed him somewhat unprepared.
Al-Adil II
The statement They were unprepared is made subject of is in the following: That they were unprepared is obvious.
Dependent statement

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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