inapt

[in-apt]

See more synonyms for inapt on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not apt or fitting.
without aptitude or capacity.

Origin of inapt

First recorded in 1735–45; in-³ + apt

Related formsin·apt·ly, adverbin·apt·ness, noun

Can be confusedinapt inept unapt

Synonyms for inapt

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1. unsuited, unsuitable, inappropriate, unfit, inapposite. 2. incapable, clumsy, awkward.

Antonyms for inapt

1. appropriate. 2. capable.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for inapt

awkward, banal, clumsy, dull, flat, gauche, ill-suited, improper, inappropriate, incongruous, inept, inexperienced, inexpert, insipid, jejune, maladroit, malapropos, slow, stupid, unable

Examples from the Web for inapt

Contemporary Examples of inapt

Everybody on TV seemed to like it, but I found it ... not exactly inappropriate, but inapt.
Obama’s State of the Union Was Strong on Substance, Weak on Poetry
Michael Tomasky
January 25, 2012

Historical Examples of inapt

Its name is a rather indefinite, but not inapt characterization.
The Story of the Upper Canada Rebellion, Volume 1
John Charles Dent
Especially were I and my sister Eliza inapt in this particular.
My Bondage and My Freedom
Frederick Douglass
My fellow servants were neither indifferent, dull, nor inapt.
My Bondage and My Freedom
Frederick Douglass
The sentences were too long, the metaphors violent and inapt.
Great Men and Famous Women. Vol. 3 of 8
Various
He is known by an offensive and inapt title—the green-tailed towhee.
Birds of the Rockies
Leander Sylvester Keyser

British Dictionary definitions for inapt

inapt

adjective

not apt or fitting; inappropriate
lacking skill; inept

Derived Formsinaptitude or inaptness, nouninaptly, adverb

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

Word Origin and History for inapt

adj.

1744, from in- (1) "not, opposite of" + apt. Related: Inaptly; inaptness.