incompetent
adjectivenouncommon in dialogue
- United States//ɪnˈkɒmpətənt//
Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully.
adjective
- 1
Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully.
Near-synonyms: incapable, inable, unable
Having an incompetent lawyer may be grounds for a retrial, but the lawyer in question probably doesn't know that.
Many Gazans scorn Fatah as corrupt and incompetent, and they dislike Hamas's overzealousness and repression.
- 2
Unable to make rational decisions; insane or otherwise cognitively impaired.
The charged was judged incompetent to stand trial, at least until his medication started working.
- 3
Opening too early during pregnancy, resulting in miscarriage or premature birth.
Near-synonyms: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning
- 4
Not resistant to deformation or flow.
Etymology
Borrowed from French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompetēns, equivalent to in- + competent.
noun
- 1
A person who is incompetent.
But besides these incompetents, there was always a train of camp followers, —women who followed the camp, beggars, and criminals, whose number was often greater than the number of fighting soldiers.
"Lies!" said the tallest of the sons of Ivaldi. "I wouldn't trust those fumble-fingered incompetents to shoe a horse."
Forms
- plural
- incompetents
- comparative
- more incompetent
- superlative
- most incompetent
incompetent · Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully.
incomplete · Not complete; not finished.incomprehensible · Impossible or very difficult to understand.inconvenience · The quality of being inconvenient.