incompetent C2+ Topic:Describing People US /ɪnˈkɑmpətənt/ UK /ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adj lacking the skill or ability to do something successfully The project failed under an incompetent manager. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · lacking the skill or... ineptunskilledincapableunqualifiedbunglinginadequate ↔ Opposites competentcapableskilledproficientqualified Word family Derived forms incompetentlyincompetence Related forms competentcompetencecompete Etymology AI details From in- ('not') + competent, from Latin competens, present participle of competere ('to be suitable'), from com- ('together') + petere ('to seek'). competere Latin petere Latin *peth₂- Proto-Indo-European View etymology graph -> Topics Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # incompetent **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ɪnˈkɑmpətənt/ **IPA (UK):** /ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt/ ## Meanings 1. lacking the skill or ability to do something successfully ## Examples - The project failed under an incompetent manager. ## Synonyms - inept - unskilled - incapable - unqualified - bungling - inadequate ## Antonyms - competent - capable - skilled - proficient - qualified ## Derived Forms - incompetently - incompetence ## Related Forms - competent - competence - compete ## Roots and Affixes - Root: competere - Root: petere - Root: *peth₂- ## Etymology From in- ('not') + competent, from Latin competens, present participle of competere ('to be suitable'), from com- ('together') + petere ('to seek'). ## AI Etymology Incompetent is from in- ('not') + competent, from Latin competens, present participle of competere ('to be suitable'), from com- ('together') + petere ('to seek'). Important recorded forms include competere (Latin), petere (Latin), and *peth₂- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers lacking the skill or ability to do something successfully. The wider family includes derived forms such as incompetently and incompetence and related words such as competent, competence, and compete. ## Topics - Describing People - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown