Meaning
Inept means having or showing no skill; clumsy or incompetent. It describes a person who is bad at doing something or lacks ability or judgment in a specific situation.
Grammar and Usage
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Part of speech: Adjective
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Typical patterns:
- inept at (doing) something → "He is inept at cooking."
- inept in (a field or skill) → "She felt inept in social situations."
- an inept remark/decision/action → modifying a noun.
Common sentence structures:
- Someone is inept at doing something.
- It was an inept attempt/decision/remark.
Common Phrases
- inept at handling situations
- an inept performance
- an inept leader
- socially inept
- inept decision-making
Collocations
- Verb + inept: seem, appear, look
- Adverb + inept: completely, totally, utterly, hopelessly
- Noun + inept: inept handling, inept performance, inept remark
Examples
- He was completely inept at managing people.
- The company suffered from inept leadership.
- Her inept handling of the situation only made things worse.
- He made an inept remark that offended everyone at the table.
- Despite his enthusiasm, he was socially inept and shy.
- The team's inept defense led to their defeat.
- That was an inept attempt to fix the computer.
- She felt inept in front of experienced professionals.
Synonyms or Related
- incompetent
- unskilled
- clumsy
- awkward
- ineffective
- unqualified
Antonym
- competent
- skilled
- capable
- adept
- proficient