Incompetent

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  incompetent
       adj 1: not qualified or suited for a purpose; "an incompetent
              secret service"; "the filming was hopeless
              incompetent" [ant: {competent}]
       2: 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}]
       3: not doing a good job; "incompetent at chess" [syn: {unskilled}]
       4: not meeting requirements; "unequal to the demands put upon
          him" [syn: {incapable}, {unequal to(p)}]
       n : someone who is not competent to take effective action [syn:
           {incompetent person}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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