competent
having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc., for some purpose; properly qualified: He is perfectly competent to manage the bank branch.
adequate but not exceptional.
Law. (of a witness, a party to a contract, etc.) having legal competence, as by meeting certain minimum requirements of age, soundness of mind, or the like.
Geology. (of a bed or stratum) able to undergo folding without flowage or change in thickness.
Origin of competent
1synonym study For competent
Other words for competent
Other words from competent
- com·pe·tent·ly, adverb
- non·com·pe·tent, adjective
- ul·tra·com·pe·tent, adjective
- un·com·pe·tent, adjective
Words Nearby competent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use competent in a sentence
Beyond diagnosing what went wrong, I asked Wright what the federal government could have done differently and if he thinks a competent administration with a serious plan might’ve saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
“We did the worst job in the world”: Lawrence Wright on America’s botched Covid-19 response | Sean Illing | February 9, 2021 | VoxYes, I think what he is gong for is a sort of I’m-more-competent-and-would-have-gotten-all-this-done angle, as opposed to the who-cares-about-the-pandemic-just-open approach.
My hope is that we’ll get another big emergency package and, finally, a competent vaccine rollout, and that we’ll be mostly back to normal by the summer.
They were fully formed humans before motherhood and competent as mothers, and those with grown children continue to be independent folks accomplishing much.
It’s time to end the TV trope of the needy empty-nest mom | Michele Weldon | February 2, 2021 | Washington PostA competent travel adviser would never send you into harm’s way.
How to find a travel adviser amid the pandemic | Christopher Elliott | January 27, 2021 | Washington Post
What they found was that most people preferred to work with the lovable fool rather than the competent jerk.
After all, unlike the other vaccines currently in the pipeline, this one is alive and replication-competent.
As his later wartime record would show, Jackson was extremely competent in the many skills required of a commanding general.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor | S. C. Gwynne | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut he had a personal fortune—he spent $1.5 million of his own money on the race—and a competent, if uninspired, message.
How House Dems Lost Their Last Southern White Guy | James Richardson | November 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“Either of the MiG types must be honored, especially in the hands of a competent pilot,” the retired pilot said.
U.S. Fighter Jocks Pray The ‘ISIS Air Force’ Rumors Are True | Dave Majumdar | October 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTUnfortunately, I had studied so little at that time, that I don't feel as if I were competent to judge him.
Music-Study in Germany | Amy FaySometimes the tracing down may have been done by some advanced pupil or competent assistant.
Antonio Stradivari | Horace William PetherickJudging from the rapid progress he made in a short time, this teacher must have been thoroughly competent.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky | Modeste TchaikovskyThat persons competent to judge of their merit would in after years pronounce them of priceless value.
The World Before Them | Susanna MoodieThe things these fellows produce are all read and checked by competent General Staff Officers.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton
British Dictionary definitions for competent
/ (ˈkɒmpɪtənt) /
having sufficient skill, knowledge, etc; capable
suitable or sufficient for the purpose: a competent answer
law (of a witness) having legal capacity; qualified to testify, etc
(postpositive foll by to) belonging as a right; appropriate
Origin of competent
1Derived forms of competent
- competently, adverb
- competentness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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