1
: generally incompetent : bungling
inept leadership
3
: not suitable to the time, place, or occasion : inappropriate often to an absurd degree
an inept metaphor
4
: lacking sense or reason : foolish
Examples of inept in a Sentence
Not only does the post have a narrow mandate, covering such sexy subjects as nuclear waste and solar energy, but the secretary presides over the most inept bureaucrats in the land.
—
Franklin Foer, New Republic, 3 July 2000
The real hackers have an understanding of technology at a basic level. … The rest are talentless poseurs and hangers-on, either completely inept or basic criminals.
—Bruce Schneier, Secrets & Lies, 2000
To Cornelius, the White House travel office must have seemed—as it would have to any of the others who had served on the tight ship of the campaign's travel operation—an appallingly inept … operation.
—Peter J. Boyer, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 1996
He was completely inept at sports.
He made an inept attempt to apologize.
Franklin Foer, New Republic, 3 July 2000
The real hackers have an understanding of technology at a basic level. … The rest are talentless poseurs and hangers-on, either completely inept or basic criminals.
—Bruce Schneier, Secrets & Lies, 2000
To Cornelius, the White House travel office must have seemed—as it would have to any of the others who had served on the tight ship of the campaign's travel operation—an appallingly inept … operation.
—Peter J. Boyer, New Yorker, 15 Apr. 1996
He was completely inept at sports.
He made an inept attempt to apologize.
Recent Examples on the Web
The company claims its latest image generation tool particularly excels at closely following a user’s prompts, using context from the chat and accurately rendering text — which AI image generators have previously been notoriously inept at.
—Angela Yang, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2025
Leading the way with his endless reserves of confidence, Montagu enlists his socially inept fellow agent Charles Cholmondeley (David Cumming) to be the brains of the operation and, against all odds, manages to sell the scheme to commanding officer Johnny Bevan (Zoë Roberts).
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has shown to be adept at the first, but inept at the second.
—Bob Rawitch, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2025
Several experts said the Christmas Eve killings gave a sense that the government was inept.
—David C. Adams, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inept
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Angela Yang, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2025
Leading the way with his endless reserves of confidence, Montagu enlists his socially inept fellow agent Charles Cholmondeley (David Cumming) to be the brains of the operation and, against all odds, manages to sell the scheme to commanding officer Johnny Bevan (Zoë Roberts).
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has shown to be adept at the first, but inept at the second.
—Bob Rawitch, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2025
Several experts said the Christmas Eve killings gave a sense that the government was inept.
—David C. Adams, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inept
Cite this Entry
“Inept.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inept. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
inept
adjective
in·ept
in-ˈept 
1
: not suited for the occasion : inappropriate
an inept remark
2
: lacking in skill or ability : incompetent
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