incompetent
Americanadjective
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not competent; lacking qualification or ability; incapable.
an incompetent candidate.
- Synonyms:
- unfit, inadequate, unqualified
-
characterized by or showing incompetence.
His incompetent acting ruined the play.
-
Law.
-
being unable or legally unqualified to perform specified acts or to be held legally responsible for such acts.
-
inadmissible, as evidence.
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noun
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an incompetent person; a mentally deficient person.
-
Law. a person lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.
adjective
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not possessing the necessary ability, skill, etc to do or carry out a task; incapable
-
marked by lack of ability, skill, etc
-
law not legally qualified
an incompetent witness
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(of rock strata, folds, etc) yielding readily to pressure so as to undergo structural deformation
noun
Synonym Usage
See incapable.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incompetent
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Late Latin incompetent- (stem of incompetēns ) “unsuitable.” See in- 3, competent
Explanation
If you are incompetent, you are not able to complete a task, like if you only ever made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — you would be incompetent in the kitchen of a fancy French restaurant. Someone who is not very good at getting a job done is incompetent. An incompetent salesperson can't sell anything. A learned professor may be quite incompetent when it comes to controlling a room full of rowdy pre-schoolers. Legally speaking, you can be declared incompetent if you do not have necessary qualifications, like being certified or licensed to do a certain job, like cut hair or fix cars.
Vocabulary lists containing incompetent
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 3
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ACT Vocabulary List
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Awkward Moments
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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.
While having a power of attorney designated for a person who is suffering cognitive decline is an absolute necessity, having them declared incompetent by a court is not.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
Remember DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk’s chainsaw-to-the-government effort run by incompetent kids?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
“The trial court abused its discretion by considering incompetent evidence in support of the temporary injunction,” the three-judge panel wrote.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026
The 65-year-old comedian divulged his 25 favourite moments as incompetent office manager Brent and delved into the inspiration behind some of his most memorable lines.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Gina treats GPS like it’s an incompetent chauffeur.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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.
