unemployed
[adjective]
Synonyms: out of work, idle, jobless, laid off, redundant

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Antonyms: employed
Related Idioms: at liberty, let go, on layoff, out of work
Related Words: free, unengaged, unoccupied, underemployed, fired, laid off

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English Thesaurus: unemployed, out of work, redundant, be on the dole, be looking for work, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. un‧em‧ployed¹ S2 W3 /ˌʌnɪmˈplɔɪd◂/ adjective
[Word Family: noun: employee, employer, employment ≠ unemployment, unemployed, employ; adjective: employed ≠ unemployed, employable ≠ unemployable; verb: employ]
without a job Synonym : out of work:
an unemployed actor
I’ve only been unemployed for a few weeks.

REGISTER
In everyday English, people often say out of work rather than unemployed:
He’s been out of work since January.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. unemployed² noun
[Word Family: noun: employee, employer, employment ≠ unemployment, unemployed, employ; adjective: employed ≠ unemployed, employable ≠ unemployable; verb: employ]
the unemployed [plural] people who have no job
the long-term unemployed (=people who have not had a job for a long time)
a retraining scheme for the long-term unemployed

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

unemployed
adj.
VERBS be, be registered (as) | become | remain | leave sb, make sb The closure of the factory left hundreds of men unemployed.
ADV. currently | newly | still | temporarily | permanently | involuntarily, voluntarily As I was voluntarily unemployed, I wasn't entitled to benefit.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

unemployed
noun the unemployed
ADJ. long-term | rural, urban
PREP. among the ~ The party's policies were popular among the unemployed.
PHRASES the plight of the unemployed, the ranks of the unemployed He graduated with a good degree, only to join the ranks of the unemployed.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

unemployed someone who is unemployed does not have a job:
Fifty per cent of the men in this town are unemployed.
out of work unemployed, especially for a long period of time, when you had a job before:
I’ve been out of work for two years.
redundant British English if someone is redundant, they have been told that they no longer have a job:
He was made redundant earlier this year.
redundant miners
be on the dole British English, be on welfare/on unemployment American English to be receiving money from the government because you do not have a job:
I didn’t want to go back on the dole.
Many people on welfare don’t have anyone to take care of the kids while they train for a job.
be looking for work if someone is looking for work, they do not have a job and are trying to find one:
How long have you been looking for work?
jobless people who are jobless do not have jobs – used especially in news reports:
The jobless totals have risen by 6% in the last year.
jobless youths

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲