uncompetitive

British  

/ ˌʌnkəmˈpɛtɪtɪv /

adjective

1. not able or willing to compete

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Explanation

Uncompetitive means not particularly motivated to win. If you have fun playing board games without caring who wins or loses, you're uncompetitive. While competitive people love to compete and want to be the very best at what they do, those who are uncompetitive just don't care as much about competition. This adjective can also be used to describe a business that can't quite make it: "The other frankfurter shops in town are much flashier — I'm afraid your hot dog cart will be uncompetitive."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

uncompetitive

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem says it would be "not acceptable" for Fernando Alonso to leave Formula 1 while he is in an uncompetitive position.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

But they’ve tripled their sports staff this year, adding performance and mental health therapists and additional basketball data people — who apparently aided in the construction of an old, uncompetitive roster.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“If you have an uncompetitive tax system, you know, capital leaves the country,” he said, as he pointed to companies de-listing from the London Stock Exchange.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026

Lauer said Giftory's roughly 30 employees get a premium AI subscription costing about $200 a month -- "peanuts" stacked against an average salary of $100,000 a year, and cheap enough to make offshoring "uncompetitive."

From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026

The 1959 deficit was caused in large part by the failure of our exports to penetrate foreign markets—the result both of restrictions on our goods and our own uncompetitive prices.

From State of the Union Address by John F. (John Fitzgerald) Kennedy