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Competent vs Ethical - What's the difference?

competent | ethical |

As adjectives the difference between competent and ethical

is that competent is competent (able) while ethical is (philosophy|not comparable) of or relating to the study of ethics.

As a noun ethical is

an ethical drug.

competent

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications.
  • He is a competent skier and an expert snowboarder.
  • (legal) Having jurisdiction or authority over a particular issue or question.
  • For any disagreements arising from this contract, the competent court shall be the Springfield Circuit Court.
    judicial authority having competent jurisdiction
  • Adequate for the purpose
  • * 1662 , , Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 67:
  • "For if [birds] had been Viviparous , the burthen of their womb, if they had brought forth any competent number at a time, had been so big and heavy, that their wings would have failed them "

    Quotations

    * "I believe in that myself because it has been explained by competent men as the convolutions of the grey matter." - James Joyce, Ulysses , 1922 * "That as a competent keyless citizen he had proceeded energetically from the unknown to the known through the incertitude of the void." - James Joyce, Ulysses , 1922

    ethical

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (philosophy, not comparable) Of or relating to the study of ethics.
  • The philosopher Kant is particularly known for his ethical writings.
  • (not comparable) Of or relating to the accepted principles of right and wrong, especially those of some organization or profession.
  • All employees must familiarize themselves with our ethical guidelines.
  • (comparable) Morally approvable, when referring to an action that affects others; good.
  • We are trying to decide what the most ethical course of action would be.
  • (of a drug, not comparable) Only dispensed on the prescription of a physician.
  • In most jurisdictions, morphine is classified as an ethical drug.

    Usage notes

    * In general usage ethical'' is used to describe standards of behavior between individuals, while ''moral'' or ''immoral can describe any behavior. You can call lying unethical or immoral, for example, because it involves the behavior of one person and how it affects another, but violating dietary prohibitions in a holy text can only be described as immoral.

    Derived terms

    * ethical investment * ethical system * meta-ethical * (morally approvable) unethical

    See also

    * ethical dative

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An ethical drug.
  • Anagrams

    *