as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
the nurse's ineptitude made it clear that she would be happier in a different line of work
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ineptitude
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who unsuccessfully ran against Newsom for governor in 2018, pointed to state spending on homelessness as an example of ineptitude.
—
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
That spot played off Trainor’s name and comically showed her ineptitude in trying to treat Mahomes.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
But that should have been at Dicker’s feet, not the officials’ ineptitude.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Microfinance was hailed as a panacea, a low-cost solution to ineptitude, corruption, and limited state capacity that could both help the poor and benefit socially conscious investors.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ineptitude
Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
That spot played off Trainor’s name and comically showed her ineptitude in trying to treat Mahomes.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 8 Jan. 2026
But that should have been at Dicker’s feet, not the officials’ ineptitude.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Jan. 2026
Microfinance was hailed as a panacea, a low-cost solution to ineptitude, corruption, and limited state capacity that could both help the poor and benefit socially conscious investors.
—Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ineptitude
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ineptitude
inability
Noun
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But its lofty position is threatened by, among other things, America’s own chronic inability to keep a balanced budget, and the administration’s trade policy is part of what’s holding it back from doing so.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
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Rust, more than most of the Penguins, has taken the franchise’s recent inability to reach the postseason especially hard in recent years.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ineptitude.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ineptitude. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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