incompetent

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incompetent

/ɪnˈkɒmpətənt/ US

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompetēns, equivalent to in- + competent.

adjective more incompetent · most incompetent

Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully. Near-synonyms: incapable, inable, unable
Similar: noncompetent, uncompetent, inept, ineffective, abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap · Opposite: competent, capable, able, artful, habile, accomplished, adept, adroit, apt, consummate, conversant, crack
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.
of the cervix Opening too early during pregnancy, resulting in miscarriage or premature birth. Near-synonyms: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning
Similar: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning
Not resistant to deformation or flow.

noun incompetents

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.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: inept, inadequate, inefficient, ineffective, unskilled, feckless, bad, unqualified, incapable, unworkmanlike, clumsy, bungling, fumbling, incompetent person, unequal to, unsatisfactory

Translations

Every language

adj unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability

Español	incompetente
日本語	できない dekinai, 無能な munō na
हिन्दी	नालायक nālāyak
Português	incompetente
Français	incompétent
Deutsch	inkompetent, unfähig
Italiano	incompetente
Ελληνικά	αναρμόδιος anarmódios
Română	incompetent
Русский	некомпете́нтный nekompeténtnyj

adj unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired

Русский	невменя́емый nevmenjájemyj

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MLA

"incompetent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/incompetent. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

incompetent. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/incompetent

Chicago

"incompetent." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/incompetent.

BibTeX

@misc{incompetent_2026,
  title = {incompetent},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/incompetent},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}