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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective inept contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of inept are awkward, clumsy, gauche, and maladroit. While all these words mean "not marked by ease (as of performance, movement, or social conduct)," inept often implies complete failure or inadequacy.

a hopelessly inept defense attorney

When is it sensible to use awkward instead of inept?

The words awkward and inept can be used in similar contexts, but awkward is widely applicable and may suggest unhandiness, inconvenience, lack of muscular control, embarrassment, or lack of tact.

periods of awkward silence

In what contexts can clumsy take the place of inept?

The meanings of clumsy and inept largely overlap; however, clumsy implies stiffness and heaviness and so may connote inflexibility, unwieldiness, or lack of ordinary skill.

a clumsy mechanic

When might gauche be a better fit than inept?

The synonyms gauche and inept are sometimes interchangeable, but gauche implies the effects of shyness, inexperience, or ill breeding.

felt gauche and unsophisticated at formal parties

When could maladroit be used to replace inept?

In some situations, the words maladroit and inept are roughly equivalent. However, maladroit suggests a tendency to create awkward situations.

a maladroit politician

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of inept Additionally, the lack of housing is a product of inept regulations, such as overly restrictive zoning laws and costly building codes. Wayne Winegarden, Oc Register, 30 May 2025 Slated for release in theaters on October 17, Good Fortune introduces Reeves as Gabriel, a well-meaning but rather inept angel who decides to intervene in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Rogen). Matt Grobar, Deadline, 28 May 2025 Popular movements in South Africa, Ukraine, and the Philippines demonstrate a pattern: sustained pressure—cross-class protests, labor strikes, investigative reporting—can chip away at self-enriching, inept regimes. Evan Osnos, New Yorker, 26 May 2025 Not cut out for heroics, inept ant soldiers Arnie and Barney decide to tackle the problem by themselves, inadvertently becoming the most unlikely of heroes in the process. Ed Meza, Variety, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for inept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inept
Adjective
  • Not currently found mentally incompetent to vote by a court.
    Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
  • Pop culture has abetted this disheartening pattern, consistently depicting fathers as incompetent ...
    Gregory M. Collins, National Review, 15 June 2025
Adjective
  • There was always an inappropriate something happening.
    Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 26 June 2025
  • Walking the Talk as a Role Model Too many leaders assume organizational rules don't apply to them, creating double standards and rationalizing inappropriate behavior.
    Joseph Folkman, Forbes.com, 26 June 2025
Adjective
  • Herbert includes a range of moments, from earnest attempts to talk about the enslaved people that maintained all these palatial homes to clumsier ones in which they are referred to as workers, insinuating that their labor was paid for instead of forced.
    Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 20 June 2025
  • The aftermath of Virginia’s clumsy tumble into a rose bed where her exposed cleavage is profusely pricked by thorns lasts for all of one scene.
    Courtney Howard, Variety, 16 June 2025
Adjective
  • Mexican men were dismissed as violent Panchos and stupid Pedros.
    Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2025
  • There’s more stupid romance around harder substances but few chemicals are more hazardous to ambition than THC.
    Benjamin Hale June 23, Literary Hub, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Brushing up on English has taken on new urgency for future and current truck drivers after President Donald Trump issued an executive order saying truckers who don’t read and speak the language proficiently would be considered unfit for service.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 24 June 2025
  • These board members have betrayed the public trust and shown themselves to be unfit to govern the district.
    Jay Steiger, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
Adjective
  • This is due to the fact that research shows that distilled water, which is what our devices produce before mineralization, may be unsuitable for prolonged consumption.
    Joe Salas June 09, New Atlas, 9 June 2025
  • The family-friend label came a cropper after it was slapped with a multi-million-dollar copyright lawsuit by Disney, Warner Bros. and other major Hollywood studios for making unauthorized cuts – of scenes deemed unsuitable for family viewing by the brothers – to their movies and series.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 June 2025
Adjective
  • The next mayor, like so many of his predecessors, will have to engage in awkward negotiations with politicians in Albany.
    John Cassidy, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
  • Barely a week goes by without some fresh young talent arriving in West London to pose for the media with a Blue jersey and an awkward grin.
    Zak Garner-Purkis, Forbes.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • Making a prediction for Game 7 is obviously foolish.
    The Athletic NBA Staff, New York Times, 22 June 2025
  • This seems foolish since the U.S. has some 25-30% of the world’s coal, which is even more than China.
    Jude Clemente, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Inept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inept. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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