as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
the incompetency of the secretary was revealed only after she had left the company, and her successor discovered years of filing left undone
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incompetency
Brown signed an incompetency finding last Wednesday.
—
Skye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman, 5 Nov. 2024
Any disagreements, incompetencies, and misunderstandings will cause visible damage to your home and your mental health during the process.
—Aksha Mittapalli, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2024
The entire public, with an average IQ of 100, was able to make an assessment of incompetency within the first three minutes or less of the debate.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2024
The judge also appointed two doctors to evaluate Ramos’ mental fitness, as part of the issue around mental incompetency, and anticipated learning the results by late August.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 29 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for incompetency
Skye Seipp, Austin American-Statesman, 5 Nov. 2024
Any disagreements, incompetencies, and misunderstandings will cause visible damage to your home and your mental health during the process.
—Aksha Mittapalli, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Aug. 2024
The entire public, with an average IQ of 100, was able to make an assessment of incompetency within the first three minutes or less of the debate.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 4 July 2024
The judge also appointed two doctors to evaluate Ramos’ mental fitness, as part of the issue around mental incompetency, and anticipated learning the results by late August.
—Ishani Desai, Sacramento Bee, 29 June 2024
See All Example Sentences for incompetency
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetency
Noun
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Plenty of art is a metaphor for our inability to connect with one another.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
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Their bites attack the nervous system, possibly leading to seizures, the inability to walk or the inability to breathe due to respiratory paralysis or extreme swelling in the throat, Willey warned.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 May 2025
Noun
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Its canny use of Sérgio’s awkwardness and incompetence to comedic effect also feels like if Alex Ross Perry brought his sense of humor to bear on socio-conscious drama.—
Miriam Balanescu,
IndieWire,
17 May 2025
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Read’s lawyers say she was framed for O'Keefe's murder and, in opening statements, said the investigation was riddled with error, bias, incompetence and deceit.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incompetency.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incompetency. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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