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.
There’s plenty of furtive gags like this throughout “Up in Smoke”: police incompetence, absent parents, anti-war rhetoric and racial stereotypes that function as satire.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2026
This is obviously a demonstration of incompetence and it is their fault.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026
“Many of these individuals are effectively prisoners of bureaucratic incompetence, inaction, and indecision, held in place not by law, but by a system that has failed to move.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
The Justice Department’s struggle to appoint U.S. attorneys stemmed from a mix of obstinance and incompetence.
From Slate • Mar. 24, 2026
But when the school’s president was later ousted for incompetence, the trustees appointed Garfield to the position.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
