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
Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
The result has been something like an inverse caricature of Republican complaints about diversity, equity, and inclusion, a system in which the incompetent rise not because of their abilities but because of their sycophancy.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026
Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Adjective
Waybourn said 62 people in Tarrant County Jail were in a similar situation as Fraraccio, where they had been deemed incompetent to stand trial and were awaiting placement in a state facility.
—Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Apr. 2026
The result has been something like an inverse caricature of Republican complaints about diversity, equity, and inclusion, a system in which the incompetent rise not because of their abilities but because of their sycophancy.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 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
-
If she is ultimately deemed mentally unfit to stand trial, she could be committed to a secure mental health facility rather than face prison under Massachusetts law.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The president is unfit to serve, and lives are at stake.—
Sara Tenenbaum,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 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
-
His diagnosis is that the market is constitutionally incapable of looking further than the present moment.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Apr. 2026
-
What makes someone incapable of sustaining that quality?—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
LoRe, a Sicilian immigrant, had spent most of his life working as a butcher in New York City and running a shop there before relocating to the Charlotte area.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Apr. 2026
-
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said the Chatfield High School student took a 7-inch butcher knife from the kitchen on Tuesday morning, hid it in their backpack, and took it to school.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 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 15 Apr. 2026.
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