Words / C1

in-KOMP-it-uh-ns/ɪnˈkɒmpɪtəns/

Incompetence is lack of the skill or ability needed to do a job properly: professional incompetence, incompetence in a log. Competent (already in the dictionary) sits opposite; malpractice (already in the dictionary) is a named breach, not a learning caption. A seal miss is a file.

Meaning

Lack of the skill or ability needed to do a job properly.

Examples

• “Incompetence in the seal log is a malpractice file, not “a learning moment”.”
• “Inability is everyday. Malpractice is already in this course and hotter. A moment is a story. A seal is a log. Open the file; keep the story for the yearbook.”

Good to know

Inability to do the job. Opposite: competence. “A learning moment” ≠ a seal-log fail.

Near in meaning

inability, ineptitude, incapacity

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