How to Use competence in a Sentence

competence

noun
  • He trusts in the competence of his doctor.
  • The season will start with some faint glimmer of competence; maybe a record of 5-3.
    Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 7 Sep. 2022
  • Where passion meets competence is where the rubber hits the road.
    Emmett Lindner, New York Times, 2 Dec. 2022
  • Biden has since done both, and handled both with competence and aplomb.
    Steve Chapman Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, 6 May 2021
  • Virginia and Joy could go toe-to-toe in terms of competence and resolve.
    Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2022
  • The app shows its competence right from the start by using AI to find the best way to connect each account.
    PCMAG, 30 July 2024
  • And maybe even assuage doubts about her competence to move into the Élysée Palace.
    New York Times, 16 May 2021
  • If the Wizards don’t ask for Brown, the competence of their front office should be questioned.
    BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2021
  • That said, at this point my competence is much eroded by time.
    Brian T. Allen, National Review, 27 May 2023
  • The competence gap grew wider in the Reagan years, and wider still when George W. Bush was president.
    Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 3 May 2022
  • So the world looked at that and wondered about the competence of the U.S. and the leadership capability of the U.S..
    CBS News, 20 Apr. 2022
  • These findings are not due to a lack of competence on the part of female economists.
    Kim Elsesser, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2022
  • After watching the pitch, the MBA students were asked to evaluate the quality of the pitch as well as the competence of the founder.
    Kim Elsesser, Forbes, 6 June 2022
  • The author’s French improves along with his competence at his job.
    Benjamin Shull, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
  • Of course, a common thread in each of these stories is proven competence well beyond the levels of their peers.
    Duane Cranston, Fortune, 9 May 2022
  • The best way to address turnover is by having a hands on leader who sets a high standard of competence.
    Samuel Stern, Sun Sentinel, 19 July 2024
  • One of the demands of the suit was to declare that Ethiopian Airlines had no competence to bid for shares in Nigeria Air.
    Alexander Onukwue, Quartz, 17 Nov. 2022
  • Kamikawa isn’t the most charismatic figure, but she is praised for her competence and courage.
    Ian Bremmer, TIME, 23 May 2024
  • The act of putting it on penetrates your sense of confidence and competence.
    Emily Listfield, Harper's BAZAAR, 13 Apr. 2023
  • Four months after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the war had eaten a hole in his myths of competence.
    Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 18 July 2022
  • That’s why the July 30 election is less about vision and more about competence.
    Sam Kmack, The Arizona Republic, 8 July 2024
  • No, Nepenin could not surrender his power—this was now the competence of . . .
    Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, National Review, 12 Oct. 2021
  • The people of Virginia will gauge and judge based on performance and levels of competence, not the color of your skin.
    Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 11 Nov. 2023
  • But there’s more to her than just competence and integrity.
    Adam B. Vary, Variety, 10 Feb. 2023
  • Duran has made huge strides not just in competence but in confidence this season, and the Red Sox want to make sure those are sustained.
    Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023
  • Sloppy play from both teams, but Houston leads 7-0 thanks to a 98-yard drive in the second quarter, a rare stretch of competence for either side.
    NBC News, 1 Nov. 2024
  • But for all its whiz-bang gadgetry and funky looks, its dynamic competence falls flat.
    David Dewhurst, Car and Driver, 7 May 2023
  • City’s success is rooted not in the brilliance of its strongest player, but in the competence of its weakest.
    New York Times, 13 Aug. 2021
  • But the list of positive things the Browns could sell anyone right now is short, and it’s long been difficult to see any shortcut back toward competence.
    Zac Jackson, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
  • The researchers studied the reactions of 74 dogs, which were of different ages and breeds, to different levels of competence or incompetence.
    Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'competence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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