Inexperienced

How to spell inexperienced

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce inexperienced

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does inexperienced mean?

1. adjectiveLacking the skill or knowledge that comes from practice or involvement.

Inexperienced in a sentence

• The inexperienced intern struggled with the unfamiliar accounting software.

• As a relatively inexperienced driver, she avoided the motorway during rush hour.

Where does inexperienced come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from the prefix in-, meaning 'not', attached to 'experienced', which itself traces back to the Latin verb experiri, meaning 'to try' or 'to put to the test'. That verb combined ex- ('out of') with a root related to periri, meaning 'to attempt', the same root that gives us 'peril', since both trial and danger involve facing the unknown. The noun 'experience' entered English from Old French in the late 1300s, originally meaning a trial, a test, or knowledge gained through practice. By the 1600s English had formed the adjective 'experienced' for someone seasoned by practice, and the negated 'inexperienced' followed soon after to describe a person who has not yet been tested by practical involvement. The buried Latin root 'peri', meaning 'to try', is the quiet middle of the spelling that adults often slur over.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• ex- (out of)
• peri (try, test; from Latin experiri 'to try')
• -ence (noun suffix)
• -ed (adjective suffix)