uncompetitive

adjective

un·​com·​pet·​i·​tive ˌən-kəm-ˈpe-tə-tiv 

: not competitive : unable to compete

The only real alternative would be to protect those uncompetitive industries against foreign competition.

—Businessweek

Greene took his latest Courageous to Australia for the current race, but he says he withdrew it when it proved uncompetitive against other boats backed by fatter treasuries.

—John Rousmaniere

uncompetitiveness noun

Examples of uncompetitive in a Sentence

As long as the school system keeps offering uncompetitive wages, people looking for jobs will apply elsewhere.

Recent Examples on the Web

But the football was largely primitive and uncompetitive, as only 13 countries competed. — Michael Cox, New York Times, 23 July 2026

Purists argued that this left some of the games a little flat and uncompetitive, particularly at the end of the group stage, when only a quarter, instead of the usual half, of the teams were sent home. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 20 July 2026

As Moyn notes, the vast majority of our general elections are uncompetitive; for the most part, parties win seats simply by not being the other party. — Peter Gosselin, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

But with technology changing rapidly, no one can ignore the risk of becoming uncompetitive due to failure to implement cost-saving technology. — Bill Conerly, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for uncompetitive

• noncompetitive
• anticompetitive
• appetitive
• competitive
• repetitive

Kids Definition

uncompetitive

adjective

un·​com·​pet·​i·​tive ˌən-kəm-ˈpet-ət-iv 

: not competitive : unable to compete

uncompetitiveness noun