Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

Thesaurus

incompetency

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of incompetency

the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
  • I attended classes to remedy my incompetency with computers.
Synonyms of incompetency

impotence, inability, inadequacy, incapability, incapacity, incompetence, ineptitude, insufficiency, powerlessness
Words Related to incompetency

disqualification, inaptitude

ineffectiveness, ineffectuality, ineffectualness, inefficaciousness, inefficacy, inefficiency
Near Antonyms of incompetency

aptitude, bent, endowment, flair, genius, gift, knack, talent

effectiveness, effectualness, efficaciousness, efficiency

fitness, suitability, suitableness

potency, power, puissance, sinew, strength
Antonyms of incompetency

ability, adequacy, capability, capacity, competence, competency, potency

Learn More about incompetency

  1. Dictionary: Definition of incompetency Medical Dictionary: Definition of incompetency

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up incompetency? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

raillery

play

good-natured ridicule

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. embolization 'the process by which a blood vessel or organ is obstructed by a material mass'

  2. oleaginous 'marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality'

  3. pansexual 'sexual desire or attraction...not limited to a particular gender identity or sexual orientation'

  4. symbiote 'an organism living in symbiosis'

  5. charlatan 'faker or fraud'

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-5b032d1aef0e9
'Ingenious' and 'Ingenuous': More Than a Typo

One's clever, the other's like a child

alt-5b0310daaafde
A Matter-of-Fact Look at 'Deadpan'

Surely we can be serious.

image1481409085
9 Words from the Magical Realm

When language is magic

alt-5afefa13cc811
A Field Guide to British Noble Titles

Know your Duchess from your Baroness

Ask the Editors

video-ghost-words
Ghost Word

The story of an imaginary word that managed to sneak past our editors and enter the dictionary.

image1760257654
2017 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'feminism'

video-literally
Literally

How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.

video-his-or-her
Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice?

The awkward case of 'his or her'

Word Games

image1676440788
Words Used by Nabokov Quiz

How familiar are you with Nabokov’s unfamiliar vocabulary?

Take the quiz
cow-coming-home
Farm Idioms Quiz

Not your children's farm quiz.

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

Play the game