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Competent vs Incompetent - What's the difference?

competent | incompetent |

Incompetent is a antonym of competent.



As adjectives the difference between competent and incompetent

is that competent is having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications while incompetent is unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability.

As a noun incompetent is

a person who is incompetent.

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

    Related terms

    * competence * compete * competition * competentness

    incompetent

    English

    Adjective

    (head)
  • Unskilled, lacking normally expected degree of ability.
    • Having an incompetent lawyer may be grounds for a retrial, but the lawyer in question probably doesn't know that.
  • Unable to make rational decisions, insane or otherwise cognitively impaired.
    • The charged was judged incompetent to stand trial, at least until his medication started working.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Usage notes

    The form incompetent of , as in "I am incompetent of doing anything!" is heard (US). It is incorrect, the intended word is incapable.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person who is incompetent.