as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
hired a supremely incapable assistant who only made a mess of things
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incapable
The film has included the more sensitive images of the anti-lockdown protests, but seems unwilling or incapable to confront what happened next.
—
Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
While older kids were more likely to use algorithmic strategies, our finding contrasts with Piaget’s belief that children were incapable of this kind of systematic strategizing before 7 years of age.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
But when wildfires spread quickly, nesting condors and chicks incapable of flight are left vulnerable.
—John Leos, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Apparently incapable of not making a bad situation worse, Arthur accuses Olivia of being lonely for Rafferty, not for him.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incapable
Yangyang Cheng, NPR, 4 Oct. 2025
While older kids were more likely to use algorithmic strategies, our finding contrasts with Piaget’s belief that children were incapable of this kind of systematic strategizing before 7 years of age.
—Celeste Kidd, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
But when wildfires spread quickly, nesting condors and chicks incapable of flight are left vulnerable.
—John Leos, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
Apparently incapable of not making a bad situation worse, Arthur accuses Olivia of being lonely for Rafferty, not for him.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incapable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapable
Adjective
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However, if temperatures fluctuate unpredictably, going below or above the average, all the low-var animals will be unfit and unable to pass on their genes.—
Shraddha Lall,
The Conversation,
16 Oct. 2025
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But rivals like former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra and former California State Controller Betty Yee are already framing her as unfit for office.—
Jesus Mesa,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The premise has the potential for slapstick silliness, as an incompetent Seoul family fumbles its way through opening a hunting lodge in the Korean countryside.—
Katie Rife,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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Lauren was also charged with misdemeanor battery and theft in June 2020, per online court records reviewed by PEOPLE; that case was discharged after she was found incompetent to stand trial.—
Samira Asma-Sadeque,
PEOPLE,
24 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
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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
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For more than five hundred years, scientists had been unable to figure out the purpose of the narwhal’s tusk— a single tooth that can be up to nine feet long.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Oct. 2025
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That was a clear issue in New Hampshire, which was unable to change its date to conform to the DNC’s 2024 calendar amid resistance from top Republican leaders in the state.—
Caroline Vakil,
The Hill,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incapable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapable. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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