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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incompetent
Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
By elevating this brutal, corrupt, and incompetent figure, the regime shows contempt for its own people, which should strengthen their resolve to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 2026
Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Adjective
In other words, which sports figure was annoying or incompetent enough to warrant exile from this sports market?
—Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
By elevating this brutal, corrupt, and incompetent figure, the regime shows contempt for its own people, which should strengthen their resolve to overthrow the Islamic Republic.
—Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 2026
Noun
The Dodgers reached the pinnacle honestly, in a capitalistic structure that properly hands no favors to the incompetent.
—Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetent
Adjective
-
The National Construction Authority found that 58% of the buildings in Nairobi were unfit for habitation.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Mar. 2026
-
If venue personnel deem any person to be a threat, or otherwise unfit, in their sole discretion, he or she will not be permitted access and shall forfeit the prize.—
AJC.com,
AJC.com,
6 Mar. 2026
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
-
Despite overwhelming superiority, Washington was incapable of building a stable, legitimate South Vietnamese government or recognizing the grit and resilience of the North Vietnamese forces.—
Monica Duffy Toft,
The Conversation,
20 Mar. 2026
-
To make matters worse, her best friend, Sugar, becomes a wildly successful comedy writer who seems incapable—according to Barbara—of seeing the fundamental differences between their lives.—
Isle McElroy,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Buchsbaum described a mid-20th-century American Jewish landscape in which nearly every community had kosher butchers and caterers because even many non-Orthodox families expected bar mitzvahs, weddings and other celebrations to be kosher.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The murder weapon, a butcher knife, was found at the scene.—
Annalise Peterson,
NBC news,
21 Mar. 2026
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 25 Mar. 2026.
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