From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Incompetent \In*com"pe*tent\, a. [L. incompetens: cf. F.
incomp['e]tent. See {In-} not, and {Competent}.]
[1913 Webster]
1. Not competent; wanting in adequate strength, power,
capacity, means, qualifications, or the like; incapable;
unable; inadequate; unfit.
[1913 Webster]
Incompetent to perform the duties of the place.
--Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Law) Wanting the legal or constitutional qualifications;
inadmissible; as, a person professedly wanting in
religious belief is an incompetent witness in a court of
law or equity; incompetent evidence; a mentally defective
person is incompetent to care for himself and requires a
legal guardian.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Richard III. had a resolution, out of hatred to his
brethren, to disable their issues, upon false and
incompetent pretexts, the one of attainder, the
other of illegitimation. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
3. Not lying within one's competency, capacity, or authorized
power; not permissible.
Syn: Incapable; unable; inadequate; insufficient;
inefficient; disqualified; unfit; improper.
Usage: {Incompetent}, {Incapable}. Incompetent is a relative
term, denoting a lack of the requisite qualifications
for performing a given act, service, etc.; incapable
is absolute in its meaning, denoting lack of power,
either natural or moral. We speak of a man as
incompetent to a certain task, of an incompetent
judge, etc. We say of an idiot that he is incapable of
learning to read; and of a man distinguished for his
honor, that he is incapable of a mean action.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
incompetent
adj 1: legally not qualified or sufficient; "a wife is usually
considered unqualified to testify against her husband";
"incompetent witnesses" [syn: {incompetent},
{unqualified}] [ant: {competent}]
2: not qualified or suited for a purpose; "an incompetent secret
service"; "the filming was hopeless incompetent" [ant:
{competent}]
3: showing lack of skill or aptitude; "a bungling workman"; "did
a clumsy job"; "his fumbling attempt to put up a shelf" [syn:
{bungling}, {clumsy}, {fumbling}, {incompetent}]
4: not doing a good job; "incompetent at chess" [syn:
{incompetent}, {unskilled}]
5: not meeting requirements; "unequal to the demands put upon
him" [syn: {incapable}, {incompetent}, {unequal to(p)}]
n 1: someone who is not competent to take effective action [syn:
{incompetent}, {incompetent person}]
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