INCOMPETENTS

Noun

incompetents

plural of incompetent

Source: Wiktionary


INCOMPETENT

In*com"pe*tent, a. Etym: [L. incompetens: cf. F. incompétent. See In- not, and Competent.]

1. Not competent; wanting in adequate strength, power, capacity, means, qualifications, or the like; incapable; unable; inadequate; unfit. Incompetent to perform the duties of the place. Macaulay.

2. (Law)

Definition: 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. 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.

3. Not lying within one's competency, capacity, or authorized power; not permissible.

Syn.

– Incapable; unable; inadequate; insufficient; inefficient; disqualified; unfit; improper.

– Incompetent, Incapable. Incompetent is a relative term, denoting a want of the requisite qualifications for performing a given act, service, etc.; incapable is absolute in its meaning, denoting want 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.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

16 March 2025

SUSPENDED

(adjective) (of undissolved particles in a fluid) supported or kept from sinking or falling by buoyancy and without apparent attachment; “suspended matter such as silt or mud...”; “dust particles suspended in the air”; “droplets in suspension in a gas”


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Coffee Trivia

The world’s most expensive coffee costs more than US$700 per kilogram. Asian palm civet – a cat-like creature in Indonesia, eats fruits, including select coffee cherries. It excretes partially digested seeds that produce a smooth, less acidic brew of coffee called kopi luwak.

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