Standard Lemma guide

incompetent

adj · noun · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /ɪnˈkɒmpətənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N K AA1 M P AH0 T AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: incapable, inable, unable
  • Having an incompetent lawyer may be grounds for a retrial, but the lawyer in question probably doesn't know that.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: noncompetent, uncompetent, inept, ineffective, abysmal, atrocious, awful, bad, chronic, coarse, corny, crap, crapalicious, crappy, crummy, deityforsaken, dire, disagreeable, dismal, dogshit, dreadful, fifth-rate, foul, fourth-rate, godawful, hellish, hideous, hopeless, horrendous, horrid, horrible, horrific, inadequate, incompetent, inelegant, intolerable, inferior, lackluster, loathsome, lousy, miserable, naff, negative, odious, ordinary, pathetic, peak, piss-poor, rotten, rubbish, shitawful, shitty, sixth-rate, sloppy, subpar, terrible, unfavorable, wack, incapable, inable, unable

Antonyms: competent, capable, able, artful, habile, accomplished, adept, adroit, apt, consummate, conversant, crack, crafty, deft, dexterous, expert, facile, fluent, gain, handy, maestrolike, masterful, masterlike, masterly, masterous, professional, proficient, qualified, quick, ready, skilled, skillful, thoroughbred, tight, practiced, versed

2

adj

Meaning 2

Unable to make rational decisions; insane or otherwise cognitively impaired.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The charged was judged incompetent to stand trial, at least until his medication started working.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Opening too early during pregnancy, resulting in miscarriage or premature birth.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: medicine, sciences

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Not resistant to deformation or flow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: geography, geology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A person who is incompetent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective

Meaning 6

not qualified or suited for a purpose

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an incompetent secret service
  • the filming was hopeless incompetent

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: competent

7

adjective

Meaning 7

legally not qualified or sufficient

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a wife is usually considered unqualified to testify against her husband
  • incompetent witnesses

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unqualified

Antonyms: competent

8

adjective satellite

Meaning 8

not meeting requirements

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • unequal to the demands put upon him

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: incapable, unequal to(p)

Antonyms: none provided

9

adjective satellite

Meaning 9

not doing a good job

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • incompetent at chess

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: unskilled

Antonyms: none provided

10

adjective satellite

Meaning 10

showing lack of skill or aptitude

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a bungling workman
  • did a clumsy job
  • his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bungling, clumsy, fumbling

Antonyms: none provided

11

noun

Meaning 11

someone who is not competent to take effective action

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: incompetent person

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: unskilled person

Narrower terms: bungler, blunderer, fumbler, bumbler, stumbler, sad sack, botcher, butcher, fuckup, slouch

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompetēns, equivalent to in- + competent.

Across languages

Translations

66 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: inkometent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Afrikaans: onbekwaam — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Afrikaans: onbevoeg — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Armenian: անձեռնհաս (anjeṙnhas) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Azerbaijani: səriştəsiz — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Belarusian: некампетэ́нтны (njekampjeténtny) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Bengali: বেওয়াকেফ (beōẇakeph) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Bulgarian: неспособен (nesposoben) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Bulgarian: неумел (neumel) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Bulgarian: некомпетентен (nekompetenten) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Catalan: incompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Dutch: incompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Esperanto: malkompetenta — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Esperanto: nekompetenta — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Finnish: epäpätevä — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Finnish: taitamaton — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • French: incompétent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Galician: incompetente — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Georgian: არაკომპეტენტური (araḳomṗeṭenṭuri) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Georgian: უმეცარი (umecari) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Georgian: უუნარო (uunaro) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Georgian: უნიჭო (unič̣o) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • German: inkompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • German: unfähig — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Pennsylvania German: unfaehich — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Greek: αναρμόδιος (anarmódios) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Hindi: नालायक (nālāyak) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Icelandic: liðónýtur — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Icelandic: óhæfur — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Icelandic: ónýtur — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Icelandic: vanhæfur — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Italian: incompetente — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Japanese: できない (dekinai) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Japanese: 無能な (munō na) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Latin: inhabilis — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Latin: sēgnis — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Māori: hēhē — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Māori: hakorea — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Māori: koretake — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Norwegian Bokmål: inkompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: inkompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Occitan: incompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Polish: niekompetentny — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Portuguese: incompetente — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Romanian: incompetent — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Russian: некомпете́нтный (nekompeténtnyj) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Sanskrit: अशक्त (aśakta) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Spanish: incompetente — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Thai: ไม่ได้เรื่อง — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Thai: ไม่เอาไหน (mâi-ao-nǎi) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Turkish: beceriksiz — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Turkish: yeteneksiz — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Ukrainian: некомпете́нтний (nekompeténtnyj) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Yiddish: אומקאָמפּעטענט (úmkompetént) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Yiddish: נישט־פֿעיִק (nísht-féik) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Yiddish: אומפֿעיִק (úmfeik) — unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability
  • Armenian: անմեղսունակ (anmeġsunak) — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Bulgarian: невменяем (nevmenjaem) — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Catalan: incompetent — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Finnish: kykenemätön — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Finnish: kyvytön — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Finnish: pystymätön — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Finnish: vajaavaltainen — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Georgian: შეურაცხადი (šeuracxadi) — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Māori: koretake — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired
  • Russian: невменя́емый (nevmenjájemyj) — unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired