[syn: incapable, incompetent, unequal to(p)]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
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]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
incompetent
adj 1: legally not qualified or sufficient; "a wife is usually
considered unqualified to testify against her husband";
"incompetent witnesses" [syn: incompetent,
unqualified] [ant: competent]
2: not qualified or suited for a purpose; "an incompetent secret
service"; "the filming was hopeless incompetent" [ant:
competent]
3: 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]
4: not doing a good job; "incompetent at chess" [syn:
incompetent, unskilled]
5: not meeting requirements; "unequal to the demands put upon
him" [syn: incapable, incompetent, unequal to(p)]
n 1: someone who is not competent to take effective action [syn:
incompetent, incompetent person]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
80 Moby Thesaurus words for "incompetent":
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