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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Recent Examples of incompetent
Brian Grubb, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
The premise has the potential for slapstick silliness, as an incompetent Seoul family fumbles its way through opening a hunting lodge in the Korean countryside.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Lauren was also charged with misdemeanor battery and theft in June 2020, per online court records reviewed by PEOPLE; that case was discharged after she was found incompetent to stand trial.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Last year, Bacon was found incompetent to stand trial and transferred to a state psychiatric hospital.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Adjective
The thing that makes Slow Horses work so well — in addition to the action and pacing and farting — is that everyone on this show is incompetent in their own special little way.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
The premise has the potential for slapstick silliness, as an incompetent Seoul family fumbles its way through opening a hunting lodge in the Korean countryside.
—Katie Rife, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Lauren was also charged with misdemeanor battery and theft in June 2020, per online court records reviewed by PEOPLE; that case was discharged after she was found incompetent to stand trial.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
Last year, Bacon was found incompetent to stand trial and transferred to a state psychiatric hospital.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetent
Adjective
-
Miyares referenced a Richmond Times-Dispatch report of a Virginia trooper clocking Jones at 116 miles per hour, framing him as unfit to enforce the law.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
The Bush and Quayle team won the 1988 election, but the impression of Quayle as unfit for the job remained a drag on Bush’s reputation.—
Time,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
-
The venerable American clan at the center of the narrator’s reminiscences are wholly unfitted to the modern world and no longer endowed with the fortune that one of them brought home long ago on clipper ships.—
Daniel Akst,
WSJ,
2 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
While always a much better option than the Republicans, the Democrats are a broken party incapable of offering the type of resistance this era calls for.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Either way, he’s proven incapable of leading the fight to prevent health care premiums from skyrocketing for millions of Americans.—
Sarah D. Wire,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
In 1872, Campbell represented a group of white New Orleans butchers who claimed that efforts by Louisiana’s Reconstruction legislature to regulate their industry violated their Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
-
Marrow in Market will produce various raw meat cuts from its full-service butcher shop and specialty items.—
Susan Selasky,
Freep.com,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For more instant gratification, grab a muddler (or the back of a wooden spoon or the end of a rolling pin).—
The New York Times News Service Syndicate,
Denver Post,
19 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incompetent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incompetent. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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