ineptitude
Americannoun
-
quality or condition of being inept.
-
an inept act or remark.
Etymology
Origin of ineptitude
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin ineptitūdō; see origin at inept, -i-, -tude
Explanation
Ineptitude is a lack of skill, ability, or competence. A doctor would prove his ineptitude at practicing medicine if he mistakenly removed a patient's spleen instead of his kidney. Ineptitude and incompetence are synonyms to describe people who have absolutely no idea what they're doing. It's definitely not a quality you'd want in a pilot, who might prove his ineptitude by sending a plane full of passengers hurtling to the ground. Ineptitude also isn't a good quality to have in fields like medicine, where even one careless mistake could be life-threatening.
Vocabulary lists containing ineptitude
A Thousand Splendid Suns
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Ender's Game
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Dragonwings
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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.
To erase 29 points in a matter of 24 minutes took a perfect storm of Knicks brilliance—and Spurs ineptitude.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
That she presumes such ineptitude and desperation among her legions of users does not bode well.
From Slate • May 10, 2026
Thirteen months on, resentment towards city and county authorities continues to bubble, with persistent claims of mismanagement and ineptitude.
From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who unsuccessfully ran against Newsom for governor in 2018, pointed to state spending on homelessness as an example of ineptitude.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 4, 2026
The Permian fans got tired of the incessant whining of the Odessa High fans, of hearing that the Bronchos’ ineptitude on the football field was always somebody else’s fault.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
