different between incompetent vs incompetence

English

Etymology

From French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompet?ns.

Adjective

incompetent (comparative more incompetent, superlative most incompetent)

1. Unskilled; lacking the degree of ability that would normally be expected.

   Synonym: inept

   Having an incompetent lawyer may be grounds for a retrial, but the lawyer in question probably doesn't know that.

2. Unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired.

   The charged was judged incompetent to stand trial, at least until his medication started working.

3. (medicine) Of the cervix: opening too early in pregnancy, provoking the baby to be born.
4. (geology) Not resistant to deformation or flow.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:bad

Derived terms

• incompetently

Related terms

• incompetence
• incompetency

Translations

Noun

incompetent (plural incompetents)

1. A person who is incompetent.

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin incompet?ns, attested from 1696.

Adjective

incompetent (masculine and feminine plural incompetents)

1. incompetent

   Antonym: competent

Related terms

• incompetència

References

Further reading

• “incompetent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “incompetent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “incompetent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Dutch

Etymology

Likely borrowed, ultimately from Latin incompet?ns. Equivalent to in- +? competent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???.k?m.p??t?nt/
• Hyphenation: in?com?pe?tent
• Rhymes: -?nt

Adjective

incompetent (comparative incompetenter, superlative incompetentst)

1. incompetent

Inflection

Related terms

• incompetentie

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin incompet?ns.

Adjective

incompetent m (feminine singular incompetenta, masculine plural incompetents, feminine plural incompetentas)

1. incompetent

   Antonym: competent

Related terms

• incompeténcia

Romanian

Etymology

From French incompétent

Adjective

incompetent m or n (feminine singular incompetent?, masculine plural incompeten?i, feminine and neuter plural incompetente)

1. incompetent

Declension

English

Etymology

From French incompétence.

Noun

incompetence (usually uncountable, plural incompetences)

1. Inability to perform; lack of competence; ineptitude.
   • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:

     ... 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

   • 1949, George Orwell, 1984:

     Winston did not know why Withers had been disgraced. Perhaps it was for corruption or incompetence. Perhaps Big Brother was merely getting rid of a too-popular subordinate.

   • 1974, Ursula Leguin, The Dispossessed:

     The factory where she worked was a poisonous mass of incompetence, favoritism, and sabotage.

Related terms

• incompetent
• competency
• incompetency

Translations