'Incompetent' definitions:
Definition of 'incompetent'
(from WordNet)
adjective
Legally not qualified or sufficient; "a wife is usually considered unqualified to testify against her husband"; "incompetent witnesses" [syn: incompetent, unqualified] [ant: competent]
adjective
Not qualified or suited for a purpose; "an incompetent secret service"; "the filming was hopeless incompetent" [ant: competent]
adjective
Showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman"; "did a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf" [syn: bungling, clumsy, fumbling, incompetent]
adjective
Not doing a good job; "incompetent at chess" [syn: incompetent, unskilled]
adjective
Not meeting requirements; "unequal to the demands put upon him" [syn: incapable, incompetent, unequal to(p)]
noun
Someone who is not competent to take effective action [syn: incompetent, incompetent person]
Definition of 'Incompetent'
From: GCIDE
- Incompetent \In*com"pe*tent\, a. [L. incompetens: cf. F. incomp['e]tent. See In- not, and Competent.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. Not competent; wanting in adequate strength, power, capacity, means, qualifications, or the like; incapable; unable; inadequate; unfit. [1913 Webster]
- Incompetent to perform the duties of the place. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Law) Wanting the legal or constitutional qualifications; inadmissible; as, a person professedly wanting in religious belief is an incompetent witness in a court of law or equity; incompetent evidence; a mentally defective person is incompetent to care for himself and requires a legal guardian. [1913 Webster +PJC]
- Richard III. had a resolution, out of hatred to his brethren, to disable their issues, upon false and incompetent pretexts, the one of attainder, the other of illegitimation. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Not lying within one's competency, capacity, or authorized power; not permissible.
- Syn: Incapable; unable; inadequate; insufficient; inefficient; disqualified; unfit; improper.
- Usage: Incompetent, Incapable. Incompetent is a relative term, denoting a lack of the requisite qualifications for performing a given act, service, etc.; incapable is absolute in its meaning, denoting lack of power, either natural or moral. We speak of a man as incompetent to a certain task, of an incompetent judge, etc. We say of an idiot that he is incapable of learning to read; and of a man distinguished for his honor, that he is incapable of a mean action. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'incompetent'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- awkward,
- base,
- blank cartridge,
- bungling,
- castrato,
- clumsy,
- defective,
- deficient,
- disqualified,
- dud,
- dull tool,
- eunuch,
- failing,
- found wanting,
- gauche,
- gelding,
- greenhorn,
- ill-equipped,
- ill-fitted,
- ill-furnished,
- ill-provided,
- ill-qualified,
- imperfect,
- impotent,
- inadequate,
- incapable,
- incapable of,
- incomplete,
- ineffective,
- ineffectual,
- inefficient,
- ineligible,
- inept,
- inexpert,
- inferior,
- insufficient,
- invalid,
- lacking,
- little,
- maladjusted,
- maladroit,
- mean,
- mediocre,
- mediocrity,
- no conjuror,
- not comparable,
- not enough,
- not equal to,
- not in it,
- not up to,
- out of it,
- petty,
- shabby,
- small,
- too little,
- trivial,
- unable,
- unable to,
- unadapted,
- unadjusted,
- unarmed,
- unendowed,
- unequal to,
- unequipped,
- unfit,
- unfitted,
- ungifted,
- unprovided,
- unqualified,
- unsatisfactory,
- unsatisfying,
- unskilled,
- unskillful,
- unsufficing,
- unsuited,
- untalented,
- unworkmanlike,
- useless,
- wanting,
- weakling