incompetency

noun in·com·pe·ten·cy \ (ˌ)in-ˈkäm-pə-tən(t)-sē \

Updated on: 5 Apr 2018

Definition of incompetency

: incompetence

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Examples of incompetency in a Sentence

the incompetency of the secretary was revealed only after she had left the company, and her successor discovered years of filing left undone

Recent Examples of incompetency from the Web

The act also had some ambiguities, such as whether a Baker Act commitment prohibits gun purchases forever, or just during the period of incompetency.

— rosa flores, CNN, "Stoneman Douglas' resource officer recommended committing Nikolas Cruz for mental health issues," 19 Mar. 2018
On Monday, Buck’s mother filed an incompetency petition involving her son in the Mecklenburg County courts, court records show.

— joe marusak and michael gordon, charlotteobserver, "NC man accused of threat to ‘shoot up school’ nearly freed with no bail | Charlotte Observer," 9 Mar. 2018
State law also allows the Indiana Department of Education to revoke a superintendent's license for immorality, misconduct in office, incompetency or willful neglect of duty.

— arika herron, Indianapolis Star, "Bill would sack school leaders in financially ailing districts," 17 Jan. 2018
There's a high degree of incompetency lurking within the club, and from the outside its almost impossible to pin down exactly where that stems from - though many would slap all the blame on Huw Jenkins.

— SI.com, "FanView: £30m Worth of Players Out on Loan Shows the Complete Incompetence of Swansea City FC," 29 Jan. 2018
Following Brenda Forman's losing an incompetency claim against her husband, Howard Forman's lawyers have now called the claim frivolous and asked a judge to have Brenda Forman pay all their legal fees.

— dan sweeney, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Power Lunch: Four amendments on 2018 ballot and counting," 24 Jan. 2018
Betsy DeVos’ withdrawal of the 2011 Dear Colleague letter disregards the interests of survivors of traumatic crimes, and reflects her incompetency for the role she was appointed to—not earned.

— jordyn taylor, Glamour, "9 College Women Speak Out Against Betsy DeVos' New Campus Sexual Assault Rules," 22 Sep. 2017
Director Craig Gillespie and screenwriter Steven Rogers approach the story as something out of the Coen brothers' playbook, highlighting the incompetency and insanity of the situation.

— esther zuckerman, Marie Claire, "If You Buy Tickets for 'I, Tonya' Expecting Nancy Kerrigan Drama, Sell Them," 21 Sep. 2017
But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually—many, many months from now—Republicans will join the impeachment effort.

— monique judge, The Root, "#Impeachment: 2 Democratic Congressmen Take 1st Step to Get Donald Trump Out of Office," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incompetency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.