incompetent
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
noun
-
an incompetent person; a mentally deficient person.
-
Law. a person lacking power to act with legal effectiveness.
adjective
-
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
-
(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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
ACT Vocabulary List
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Awkward Moments
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
"Cockroaches are alive," it said in a social media post, describing Pradhan as "incompetent".
From Barron's ● Jul. 22, 2026
"Cruel or incompetent practice should have been prevented. Any behaviour which countered this was reprehensible."
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Brittan, from Devon, who spoke to the BBC after waiving her automatic lifelong right to anonymity, described the Met as "shambolic, incompetent and complicit".
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
I have watched so much incompetent Knicks basketball—and spent so much time mocking this team—I almost can’t believe the words I am typing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
They believed that excuses were tools of the incompetent and forced every cadet to believe the same.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
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.
