incompetent

adjective

in·com·pe·tent | \ (ˌ)in-ˈkäm-pə-tənt

Definition of incompetent

1 : not legally qualified

2 : inadequate to or unsuitable for a particular purpose

3a : lacking the qualities needed for effective action

b : unable to function properly incompetent heart valves

Other Words from incompetent Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about incompetent

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Examples of incompetent in a Sentence

He is too incompetent to be trusted with such an important responsibility. The patient is mentally incompetent. The defendant was declared incompetent to stand trial.

Recent Examples on the Web

Borum last year unsuccessfully sought to have Archer ruled incompetent for trial. — Chris Palmer, Philly.com, "Gunman who pledged ISIS allegiance convicted in 2016 shooting of Philly cop," 1 Feb. 2018 Europeans know exactly how incompetent their national ruling classes are. — Joseph C. Sternberg, WSJ, "EU Politicians Are the Worst, Except All the Others," 20 Dec. 2018 This is incompetent in the sense that there’s no reason to believe Whitaker is actually up to doing this job. — Matthew Yglesias, Vox, "Trump’s incompetence and authoritarianism are both scary," 15 Nov. 2018 The report was released as Facebook fends off numerous accusations of incompetent or underhanded behavior. — Adi Robertson, The Verge, "Facebook removed a lot of spam, violence, and fake accounts this year," 15 Nov. 2018 Voters there know their domestic political classes are incompetent, corrupt or worse, and that the EU acts as a check. — Joseph C. Sternberg, WSJ, "Finding the Right Right for Europe," 5 July 2018 Because our government has been so incompetent at protecting its highly sophisticated cyberweapons, those weapons have been stolen out of the electronic vaults of the National Security Agency and the C.I.A. and shot right back at us. — David E. Sanger, New York Times, "Why Hackers Aren’t Afraid of Us," 16 June 2018 Has there ever been a more incompetent boob in law enforcement? — Fox News, "Hunt for serial bomber intensifies in Texas," 21 Mar. 2018 Kevin is an incompetent boob, who may or may not have killed his late wife. — Matt Miller, Esquire, "Kevin Can Wait Found the Perfect Replacement for Donna," 23 Jan. 2018

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