incompetence

[ in-kom-pi-tuh ns or in-kom-pi-tuh n-see ]

/ ɪnˈkɒm pɪ təns or ɪnˈkɒm pɪ tən si /

the quality or condition of being incompetent; lack of ability.

Law. the condition of lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.

Nearby words

1655–65; variant (with -ence for -ency) of earlier incompetency. See incompetent, -cy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

The incompetency of the new leader and the cruelties of Apollocrates, the son of Dionysius, soon led to his recall.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5|Various
That sounded pleasant, but very ambitious: a sense of incompetency chilled her.
In the Year of Jubilee|George Gissing
He preferred solitude, away from the incompetency that he was forced to witness.
Nat Goodwin's Book|Nat C. Goodwin
Nothing shows better the absurdity of the State in claiming the right of education, than its incompetency for the task.
Public School Education|Michael Mller

Witness a transatlantic instance of its incompetency—he meant the famous case of Mr. Hastings.
Abridgment of the Debates of Congress, from 1789 to 1856, Vol. I (of 16)|Thomas Hart Benton

[ ĭn-kŏm′pĭ-təns ]

The quality of being incompetent or incapable of performing a function, as the failure of the cardiac valves to close properly.

The condition of being not legally qualified, as to stand trial.

The inability to distinguish right from wrong or to manage one's affairs.