1
as in incompetent
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
a well-meaning but inept assistant who can't seem to keep appointments straight
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inappropriate
not appropriate for a particular occasion or situation
an inept comparison between nursing-home residents and day-care children that many found offensive
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3
as in clumsy
showing or marked by a lack of skill and tact (as in dealing with a situation)
an inept effort to become friends with their future son-in-law
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in stupid
showing or marked by a lack of good sense or judgment
she offers one inept suggestion after another for saving the parish church
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of inept
Leading the way with his endless reserves of confidence, Montagu enlists his socially inept fellow agent Charles Cholmondeley (David Cumming) to be the brains of the operation and, against all odds, manages to sell the scheme to commanding officer Johnny Bevan (Zoë Roberts).
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Shania Russell, EW.com, 21 Mar. 2025
President Donald Trump has shown to be adept at the first, but inept at the second.
—Bob Rawitch, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2025
Several experts said the Christmas Eve killings gave a sense that the government was inept.
—David C. Adams, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2025
The state’s prohibitionist approach isn’t inept policy, says Paul Craney with the free-market Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance think tank.
—Chris Woodward, Boston Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inept
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inept
Adjective
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The police department’s insufficient and incompetent investigation cannot stand.—
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After almost a year of being declared incompetent, her trial began in April 2023.—
Adjective
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The league’s reason for not punishing Morant was understanding his intent behind the gesture wasn’t violent, but Morant was advised to refrain from using the inappropriate celebration.—
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Is the ‘Minecraft’ movie inappropriate? Not particularly.—
Adjective
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Raw also advertised Bayley challenging Lyra Valkyria for the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship, Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio and the world’s most clumsy GM Adam Pearce making his next fumble of the worst storyline going this WrestleMania season between Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky.—
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This is why the Trump administration’s DOGE exercise — while clumsy at times — is such an important endeavor despite Democratic efforts to discredit it.—
Adjective
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Amelia soon decides that stupid boys (and humans in general) aren't worth keeping around.—
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And in practice, the experience is delightfully stupid.—
Adjective
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There were cries of a rotten system and in its recent lawsuit against the tennis authorities, the PTPA has belittled the current system as unfit for purpose.—
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Once a game has started, the lead umpire determines whether it should be suspended as well as when it can be resumed or terminated because of bad weather or unfit playing conditions.—
Adjective
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If the new wells prove unsuitable for city use, the city has a contingency plan designed for rehabilitation.—
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Until now, scientists have generally thought that planets orbiting white dwarfs would be unsuitable for life because the dynamic temperature decrease of their dead parent star makes their atmospheres too unstable.—
Adjective
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Sisterhood in sports can come with awkward moments, though.—
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Michelle Williams truly showed how to remain graceful under pressure this weekend as she was put in an awkward situation mid-air.—
Adjective
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My big mistake was in not challenging from the stage the foolish few who booed.—
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While tailback isn’t a need, only foolish franchises pass up the opportunity to add generational talents like Jeanty.—
Cite this Entry
“Inept.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inept. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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