INCAPABLE Synonyms: 56 Similar and Opposite Words

incapable

adjective

(ˌ)in-ˈkā-pə-bəl

Definition of incapable

as in unfit

lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job hired a supremely incapable assistant who only made a mess of things

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of incapable The foreign money and visitors could dry up, however, if the Saudis prove incapable of defending themselves from Houthi attacks. — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 For years, Vaccarello seemed incapable of missing, creating trends out of bomber jackets, punky ballgowns, androgynous tuxedos, sky-high heels and knee-length lace skirts. — Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 12 Oct. 2026 Making a personnel change doesn’t mean the individual is incapable or without value. — Michael Londgren, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026 The running game was incapable of generating chunk yards, and the passing game therefore lost the battle of numbers in the secondary. — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 23 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for incapable

Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapable

Adjective

There is exactly no evidence that trans identity makes individuals unfit to serve, and this move is a clear escalation in the administration’s attempts to simply remove trans people from American life.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
That’ll be particularly important after Paxton defeated Cornyn in a brutal primary where Senate Republicans and other Cornyn allies spent more than $90 million in his defense and attacked Paxton as unfit for office.

— Matthew Choi, Washington Post, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of unfit

Adjective

In August 2022, Garza was ruled mentally incompetent to stand trial and ordered to be jailed until a bed in a state mental health treatment facility was available.

— Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
In my opinion, the president and his incompetent, corrupt acolytes have debased the office and dragged the good name of America through the mud.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of incompetent

Adjective

Here, Rodel shares how to make the unfitted kitchen trend your own, one statement-worthy piece at a time.

— Patricia Shannon, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 May 2025
The venerable American clan at the center of the narrator’s reminiscences are wholly unfitted to the modern world and no longer endowed with the fortune that one of them brought home long ago on clipper ships.

— Daniel Akst, WSJ, 2 Sep. 2022

Definition of unfitted

Adjective

The stigma of a record impedes their ability to get a job, leaving them unable to afford market-rate housing at a time when affordable housing is already limited.

— Lake County News-Sun, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026
The dairies making mozzarella cannot afford to accumulate a highly perishable product if trucks are unable to deliver it to customers.

— Giada Zampano, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026