as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
an incompetent carpenter had built the deck, and the railings were loose already
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of incompetent
Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
The case was suspended earlier this year because the aging McCarrick was deemed incompetent to stand for trial.
—Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Robert Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times, Journal Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2024
Trump's nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is saying that women are incompetent and that their presence in the military causes love triangles and drama.
—Tonya Mosley, NPR, 25 Nov. 2024
Deputies later determined the information in the notebook was stolen and belonged to dead people, people who lived in assisted living facilities and people who were mentally incompetent, FOX 13 reported.
—Pilar Arias, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incompetent 
Adjective
Their only fault lies in following the orders of an incompetent commander.
—Yoonjung Seo, CNN, 8 Dec. 2024
The case was suspended earlier this year because the aging McCarrick was deemed incompetent to stand for trial.
—Laura Schulte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Robert Herguth, Chicago Sun-Times, Journal Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2024
Trump's nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, is saying that women are incompetent and that their presence in the military causes love triangles and drama.
—Tonya Mosley, NPR, 25 Nov. 2024
Deputies later determined the information in the notebook was stolen and belonged to dead people, people who lived in assisted living facilities and people who were mentally incompetent, FOX 13 reported.
—Pilar Arias, Fox News, 20 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incompetent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetent
Adjective
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But that also would mean keeping the grossly unfit Patel from being confirmed.Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2024
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In April, the indictment says, Feldstein failed a Shin Bet security-clearance check and was found unfit to handle highly classified material.Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Iran’s intelligence services appear incapable of giving their leaders advance warning about direct threats or disrupting hostile covert operations, according to Roule and other analysts.Abigail Williams, NBC News, 9 Dec. 2024
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In future cases, guardians will have to prove that a person is incapable of voting — not the other way around.Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 9 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Patole heads to a market town to buy leafy greens, then trudges down a muddy road lined with butcher shops, each a hole-in-the-wall, run by Muslim men – the Indian minority dominates the butchery trade.Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 15 Dec. 2024
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In the textbook’s narrative, the butcher of millions is never culpable.Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near incompetent
Cite this Entry
“Incompetent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incompetent. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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