as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
the astounding incompetence of the new assistant
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incompetence
This situation illustrates the difficulty of ending wars that are not going well: the possibility of failure often adds a political objective—the desire to avoid the appearance of weakness and incompetence.
—
Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
This sloppiness, this incompetence, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies and the personnel who work for them is entirely unacceptable.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2025
Media bias is very real—and so is congressional incompetence.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
For the moment, however, critics of the Trump regime at home and around the world are again in awe of the incompetence that has repeatedly made a laughingstock of his inner circle.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetence
Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 14 Apr. 2025
This sloppiness, this incompetence, this disrespect for our intelligence agencies and the personnel who work for them is entirely unacceptable.
—Nbc News, NBC news, 30 Mar. 2025
Media bias is very real—and so is congressional incompetence.
—Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Mar. 2025
For the moment, however, critics of the Trump regime at home and around the world are again in awe of the incompetence that has repeatedly made a laughingstock of his inner circle.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incompetence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incompetence
Noun
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And yet, progress waits for no one—failing to adapt will lead to inefficiencies and an inability to meet evolving consumer demands, causing such banks to be left behind.—
Roman Eloshvili,
Forbes.com,
18 Apr. 2025
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And there’s a blunt, pulp poetry to Manny’s conclusion (if not a particularly sensitive one), driven to despair by an inability to live in the dissonant but very real space between one’s religious moral compass and the realities of one’s life.—
Andy Andersen,
Vulture,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incompetence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incompetence. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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