Etymology Borrowed from French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompetēns, equivalent to in- + competent.
1
Lacking the degree of ability and responsibility necessary to do a task successfully.
Near-synonyms: incapable, inable, unable
Having an incompetent lawyer may be grounds for a retrial, but the lawyer in question probably doesn't know that.
1 more example
Many Gazans scorn Fatah as corrupt and incompetent, and they dislike Hamas's overzealousness and repression.2009 January 8, Nicholas D. Kristof, “The Gaza Boomerang”, in The New York Times:
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, SciencesOf the cervix Opening too early during pregnancy, resulting in miscarriage or premature birth.
Near-synonyms: dysfunctional, nonfunctioning
4
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences Not resistant to deformation or flow.
Etymology Borrowed from French incompétent, from Late Latin incompetentem, from Latin incompetēns, equivalent to in- + competent.
1
A person who is incompetent.
But besides these incompetents, there was always a train of camp followers, —women who followed the camp, beggars, and criminals, whose number was often greater than the number of fighting soldiers.1915, Henry Smith Williams, Edward Huntington Williams, Modern Warfare, page 11:
"Lies!" said the tallest of the sons of Ivaldi. "I wouldn't trust those fumble-fingered incompetents to shoe a horse."2017, Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 34: