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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incompetent
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
All of the charges were ultimately discharged after she was found incompetent for court proceedings by a doctor.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Look only to the Bengals, Panthers, Browns and Jets, Sunday’s opponent, for examples of what can go wrong with owners with short pockets, short tempers and/or outsized influence from the unqualified and incompetent.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2025
Wake the f*** up please and stop playing defense for these incompetent fascists.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Noun
Devil in Disguise also presents the Chicago Police Department as incompetent in its mission to protect and serve.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2025
All of the charges were ultimately discharged after she was found incompetent for court proceedings by a doctor.
—David Clarey, jsonline.com, 14 Oct. 2025
Look only to the Bengals, Panthers, Browns and Jets, Sunday’s opponent, for examples of what can go wrong with owners with short pockets, short tempers and/or outsized influence from the unqualified and incompetent.
—Troy Renck, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2025
Wake the f*** up please and stop playing defense for these incompetent fascists.
—Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetent
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
-
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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Gilligan is probably incapable of saccharine.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
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In the final debate, Cuomo and Sliwa both attacked Mamdani for his stances on Israel and sought to portray him as incapable of addressing rising antisemitism to protect Jews, who account for about a tenth of New York City.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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It was subsequently given to the artist Kara Walker, who carved it up in accordance with a butcher’s diagram.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
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Some of these attractions in the maze include a biohazard unit, a butcher shop, a poacher camp and a witch’s cauldron.—
Abby Hamblin,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Oct. 2025
Noun
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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 29 Oct. 2025.
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