Incompetence

noun

noun ·4 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An inability to perform; a lack of competence; ineptitude. uncountable, usually

    "... at the head of a crew, too, chiefly made up of mongrel renegades, and castaways, and cannibals--morally enfeebled also, by the incompetence of mere unaided virtue or right-mindedness in Starbuck"

  2. 2
    lack of physical or intellectual ability or qualifications wordnet
  3. 3
    inability of a part or organ to function properly wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
ad libbasenessdeficiencydisabilitydisablementdisqualification

Example

More examples

"Is his failure ascribable to incompetence or to bad luck?"

Etymology

From French incompétence, equivalent to in- + competence.

Related phrases

artificial incompetenceweaponized incompetence

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.