incompetence
Americannoun
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the quality or condition of being incompetent; lack of ability.
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Law. the condition of lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.
Etymology
Origin of incompetence
First recorded in 1655–65; from French incompétence (equivalent to in- negative prefix + compétence); variant of earlier incompetency; see origin at incompetent; see also -cy, -ence, -ency
Explanation
Can't finish a simple task? Having a hard time figuring something out? Lack the ability to get things done? Then you might be suffering from incompetence. Have you ever noticed how bad a lot of people are at their jobs, even though they do them every day? Or how often famous people screw things up, even very important things? Then you've already noticed that incompetence is a very common thing. Incompetence is a word for people and things that are ineffective, shoddy, or just terrible at what they're supposed to do. Incompetence is the opposite of excellence.
Vocabulary lists containing incompetence
Speak
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1933), List 1
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Vocabulary Heard at the 2016 Republican National Convention
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Incompetence and corruption plague both the private and the public sectors, Mr. Mylovanov acknowledged, and a balance must be struck to root it out.
From New York Times • Dec. 8, 2022
Incompetence and abuses of power don’t reveal themselves; exposing them requires the courage of witnesses in government to assume the personal and professional risk of speaking out.
From Washington Post • Oct. 27, 2022
"They actually denied the claim for narcolepsy saying it would only be approved for narcolepsy. Human error? Malice? Incompetence? I can't explain it."
From Salon • May 30, 2022
"Incompetence is fast turning into criminality," he wrote in a tweet.
From BBC • Jan. 9, 2022
Incompetence and aimlessness, corruption and disloyalty, panic and ultimate disaster, must come to any people which is denied an assured access to the facts.
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Park, Robert Ezra
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
