How to Use incompetent in a Sentence

incompetent

adjective
  • The defendant was declared incompetent to stand trial.
  • The patient is mentally incompetent.
  • He is too incompetent to be trusted with such an important responsibility.
  • Kevin is an incompetent boob, who may or may not have killed his late wife.
    — Matt Miller, Esquire, 23 Jan. 2018
  • Your co-worker could be just plain incompetent — or a huge jerk.
    — Peter Jones, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2017
  • The talent gap is either too wide, the on-field play too incompetent or both.
    — Stephen Means, cleveland, 24 Nov. 2020
  • She was charged with murder, but was soon found to be incompetent to stand trial.
    — Elizabeth Depompei, Indianapolis Star, 31 Jan. 2020
  • Even if Brown is ruled incompetent, the case would not be dismissed.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026
  • The more one had, the more likely one would be declared incompetent.
    — Shannon Toll, The Conversation, 23 Oct. 2023
  • To this day, no court has found Newman is incompetent.
    — Carrie Johnson, NPR, 29 Mar. 2026
  • Pause for a walk, some tea, deep breaths Think driver who was yelled at is just incompetent?
    — Lizzy Acker, oregonlive, 7 Mar. 2023
  • The team looked incompetent, even with an extra week to prepare.
    — Chad Graff, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
  • This show is about scheming, the weight of the crown, and incompetent brats who want to scheme to get their hands on the crown.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 6 July 2026
  • Your generals seemed incompetent, even a few of them were drunks.
    — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 16 Jan. 2021
  • Good people won’t want to work hard to line the pockets of incompetent or mean leaders.
    — Kelly Tyler Byrnes, Forbes, 3 June 2021
  • She has been deemed incompetent by the nursing home and therefore can’t name me as a contact.
    — Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 28 July 2023
  • People who have been deemed incompetent sit in county jails until a spot opens.
    — Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 July 2023
  • Or a new hire, incompetent for the work, brought on board via the nepotism of the franchise owner.
    — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 19 Mar. 2020
  • But don’t come at me for being incompetent and clueless as a parent.
    — Saul Austerlitz, The Atlantic, 5 Mar. 2024
  • The man was charged with multiple felony charges but found incompetent to stand trial.
    — Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The man was charged with multiple felony charges but found incompetent to stand trial.
    — Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2025
  • Shame on you for choosing an incompetent person to lead our country.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 2 Mar. 2026
  • What if the client stops buying because the new owner is incompetent?
    — Richard Parker, Forbes.com, 6 July 2025
  • But the reason is not as simple as an incompetent training staff.
    — Levi Weaver, New York Times, 4 June 2026
  • Wake the f*** up please and stop playing defense for these incompetent fascists.
    — Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Writing a nasty review to point out how incompetent a business is can hurt that business for years to come.
    — Jennifer Coy, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2021
  • But the Jets have already pushed their pieces to the middle and would look incompetent if this deal doesn’t get done.
    — Michael Arinze, Chicago Tribune, 21 Mar. 2023
  • Even Democrats have agreed that – that he's been completely incompetent and not on the ball there, so to say.
    — Nbc Universal, NBC News, 21 Jan. 2024
  • Most of the women said that were made to feel incompetent after raising these issues.
    — Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 3 July 2020
  • And the protections shouldn't be such that someone who's incompetent is allowed to stay in a job.
    — Mo Rocca, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incompetent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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