inept

Examples

• All

• I mean, he is so inept and so bad at his job that he even takes it further.

• Of course I was totally socially inept.

  Guinevere (1999)

• Why are the English so inept in argument?

  Women in Love (1969)

• Because you run one of the more inept hospitals in all of southern California.

  House Calls (1978)

• We are either inept or the system's rigged.

  Rich Roll

• The military authorities seemed to me all through to have been more inept than it's possible to conceive.

• And anyone who's worked for the government knows how inept they are at keeping secrets or doing anything organized at such a level.

• Buckle views Philip III as a king as inept as his father was.

  Academic text (2004)

• York's criticism of their inept handling of the war against France led to his exclusion from court and transfer to Ireland.

• The most formidable criminal mind in Europe has just had all his money stolen by perhaps the most inept inspector in the history of Scotland Yard.

  Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)

Synonyms

I

incompetent

vsinept

141 4.9

Not able to do a job or task well

often has sense of physical awkwardness rather than job failure

C

clumsy

vsinept

73 1.2

Moving in an awkward, unsteady way that causes accidents

also covers lack of broad skill or ability beyond physical movement

A

awkward

vsinept

33 3.0

Not graceful in movement or action

often implies lack of practical skill or clumsy physical movement

H

hopeless

vsinept

31 1.6

Not able to do something well

can instead imply awkward physical action rather than sheer failure

B

bumbling

vsinept

7 7.3

Acting awkward and clumsy in movement or when handling things

can be less about confusion and more about simple lack of skill

U

uncoordinated

vsinept

6 4.8

Not able to move with control so movements look clumsy

also applies to lack of skill in tasks beyond purely physical control

U

unskillful

vsinept

1 4.4

Not able to do something well

is more likely to suggest clumsiness or awkward physical action

I

inapt

vsinept

• Formal

1 7.5

Not suitable and awkward when speaking or acting

more often describes poor skill or clumsy ability rather than wrong fit

I

inexpert

vsinept

1 6.5

Not skilled at a task or subject

is used more generally for clumsiness and wide incompetence

U

unartful

vsinept

1 7.4

Has little skill and looks clumsy

tends to mean plain incompetence or physical awkwardness rather than craft

F

fumbling

vsinept

4.9

Doing things in an awkward, clumsy way

may further suggest overall lack of ability beyond momentary error

U

unhandy

vsinept

5.2

Clumsy with hands when doing simple tasks

covers broader awkwardness or inability, not only small hand tasks

Antonyms

C

competent

114 3.6

Able to do a job well because of skill and knowledge

A

adept

43 4.2

Able to do something well

S

skillful

34 2.8

Good at doing something because of practice and careful control

How Skilled

expert

3 3.5

adept

43 4.2

skilled

172 3.5

capable

945 1.4

inept

49 5.0

unskilled

6 2.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology