Inept — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

not elegant or graceful in expression

generally incompetent and ineffectual

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ɪnˈɛpt/

🇬🇧British English

/ɪnˈɛpt/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɪnˈɛpt/

2 syllables Say it as /ɪnˈɛpt/.

Examples

an awkward prose style
a clumsy apology
his cumbersome writing style

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

clumsy tactless feckless ill-chosen awkward inapt cumbersome

Parts of Speech

adjective	not elegant or graceful in expression “an awkward prose style”
adjective	generally incompetent and ineffectual “feckless attempts to repair the plumbing”
adjective	revealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse “an inept remark”

Word Forms

awkwardness	noun	unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
clumsiness	noun	the inelegance of someone stiff and unrelaxed (as by embarrassment)
inaptness	noun	inappropriateness
ineptness	noun	unskillfulness resulting from a lack of training
fecklessness	noun	worthlessness due to being feeble and ineffectual
tactlessness	noun	the quality of lacking tact

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

ungeschickt

weder elegant noch anmutig im Ausdruck

🇫🇷French

inepte

pas d'expression élégante ou gracieuse

🇪🇸Spanish

inepto

no elegante o grácil en expresión

🇮🇹Italian

inetto

non elegante o aggraziato nell'espressione

🇳🇱Dutch

klungelig

niet elegant of sierlijk van uitdrukking

🇵🇹Portuguese

inepto

não é elegante ou gracioso na expressão

🇷🇺Russian

неумелый

не элегантно и не изящно в выражении лица

India

🇮🇳Hindi

अयोग्य

अभिव्यक्ति में सुरुचिपूर्ण या सुंदर नहीं

🇧🇩Bengali

অযোগ্য

অভিব্যক্তিতে মার্জিত বা মার্জিত নয়

🇮🇳Tamil

தகுதியற்ற

வெளிப்பாட்டில் நேர்த்தியான அல்லது நேர்த்தியானதாக இல்லை

🇮🇳Telugu

పనికిరాని

వ్యక్తీకరణలో సొగసైన లేదా సొగసైనది కాదు

🇮🇳Marathi

अयोग्य

अभिव्यक्तीमध्ये मोहक किंवा मोहक नाही

🇮🇳Gujarati

અયોગ્ય

અભિવ્યક્તિમાં ભવ્ય અથવા આકર્ષક નથી

🇮🇳Kannada

ಅಸಮರ್ಥ

ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೊಗಸಾದ ಅಥವಾ ಆಕರ್ಷಕವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ

🇮🇳Malayalam

കഴിവില്ലാത്ത

ഭാവപ്രകടനത്തിൽ ഗംഭീരമോ മനോഹരമോ അല്ല

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਅਯੋਗ

ਪ੍ਰਗਟਾਵੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ ਜਾਂ ਸ਼ਾਨਦਾਰ ਨਹੀਂ

🇵🇰Urdu

نااہل

اظہار میں خوبصورت یا خوبصورت نہیں۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

无能的

表情不优雅

🇯🇵Japanese

無能な

表現がエレガントでも優雅でもない

🇰🇷Korean

무능한

우아하지도 우아하지도 않은 표현

🇻🇳Vietnamese

không có khả năng

không thanh lịch hoặc duyên dáng trong biểu hiện

🇹🇭Thai

ไม่เหมาะสม

ไม่สง่างามหรือสง่างามในการแสดงออก

🇮🇩Indonesian

tidak kompeten

tidak anggun atau anggun dalam berekspresi

🇵🇭Filipino

walang kakayahan

hindi matikas o matikas sa pagpapahayag

🇲🇾Malay

tidak cekap

tidak elegan atau anggun dalam ekspresi

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

أحمق

ليست أنيقة أو رشيقة في التعبير

🇮🇷Persian

ناتوان

در بیان ظریف یا برازنده نیست

🇹🇷Turkish

beceriksiz

ifade olarak zarif veya zarif değil

🇮🇱Hebrew

שׁטוּתִי

לא אלגנטי או חינני בביטוי

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'inept'?

The primary meaning of 'inept' is 'not elegant or graceful in expression'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'inept' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'inept' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'inept' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'inept' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'inept' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'inept' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'inept' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'inept' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'inept' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'inept' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted