"Unfit___, but even less" or "but even more"

Question

This sentence

He considered himself unfit for the job, but even more for that task.

does not sound right because unfit has a negative meaning. I tried the other way:

He considered himself unfit for the job, but even less for that task.

but this looks like a contradictory sentence.
Is there any way to put this right, without repeating "unfit"?

LPH · Accepted Answer

Consulting usage here might help bring about your agreeing with the following possibility.

He considered himself unfit for the job, but even more so for that task.

Anton · Answer

More = to a greater or higher degree — often used with an adjective or adverb to form the comparative
Merriam Webster

The important point here is the use of degree. It tells us that, regardless of the adjective itself, there is a scale of degree.
more unfit = unfit to a greater degree.
And the most unfit = having the greatest degree of unfitness.
From this perspective, we could even say things like “-10 is more negative than -5” and it would be clear and correct, whereas “-10 is more than -5” is clearly wrong.

"Unfit___, but even less" or "but even more"

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