inept
Americanadjective
-
without skill or aptitude for a particular task or assignment; maladroit.
He is inept at mechanical tasks. She is inept at dealing with people.
- Synonyms:
- unskillful
- Antonyms:
- suited
-
generally awkward or clumsy; haplessly incompetent.
-
inappropriate; unsuitable; out of place.
-
absurd or foolish.
an inept remark.
adjective
-
awkward, clumsy, or incompetent
-
not suitable, appropriate, or fitting; out of place
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inept
First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin ineptus, equivalent to in- in- 3 + -eptus, combining form of aptus apt
Explanation
A clumsy, incompetent person — or an ineffective action — is inept. When you're inept, you don't know what you're doing or just can't get it done. Someone inept is bumbling, clueless, and ineffective. Inept people are dumb or clueless; they don't understand things. More than that, inept people are bad at what they do. An inept lawyer always loses cases. An inept figure skater wipes out on the ice. An inept postal worker loses mail and puts it in the wrong box. An inept person is downright bad at something. The opposite of inept is competent.
Vocabulary lists containing inept
Grade 10, List 1
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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.
A source said that Healey still believed he could somehow balance the books, that big adjustments could be made - an assumption they described as "inept".
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
As post-conviction lawyers who now represent Carruthers have said, his trial performance was “singularly inept, ineffective, and disastrous.”
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
The Scotsman had built a stellar reputation at sea, offset by an inept sense of naval and parliamentary politics at home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Just because such comparisons are almost laughably inept doesn’t mean they don’t have real world stakes.
From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026
We lunged about in the garage like two swashbucklers in an especially inept historical film for several moments, fork and cutlass clicking against each other madly.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
