How to Use inept in a Sentence

inept

adjective

• He was completely inept at sports.
• He made an inept attempt to apologize.
• Wish was a bafflingly inept mash-up of Disney properties that came and went with stunning speed.
  — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 28 Nov. 2024
• But the story of a female politician (however inept) took on added resonance this year.
  — Joanna Robinson, HWD, 17 Sep. 2017
• One technically inept player on the field can disrupt ball movement.
  — Dylan Hernandez, latimes.com, 29 July 2017
• The Seahawks defense is still an incredible unit, but the offense has looked as inept as any in football.
  — Scott Horner, Indianapolis Star, 28 Sep. 2017
• In both, an inept offensive line prevented any attempt to commit football.
  — Adam Kilgore, chicagotribune.com, 13 Sep. 2017
• Barkley has dealt with plenty of injuries, and inept offenses, during his career, but is back to star status in Philadelphia.
  — Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
• Donald Trump is an inept, talentless president, and those who believe otherwise need only listen to the wise words of the man himself.
  — Jay Willis, GQ, 16 Oct. 2017
• Just as comic books and movies have moved from being a fringe hobby of nerds and socially inept gamers to mainstream big-time business, so have American politics.
  — Jason Johnson, The Root, 1 Aug. 2017
• Corrupt and inept governments in Guatemala and Honduras failed to halt an epidemic of gang violence and extortion.
  — Will Freeman, Foreign Affairs, 5 Dec. 2024
• Though often inept and low-rent, the system transformed scruffy barrio cliques into bands of revenue-generating soldiers accustomed to taking orders from outsiders.
  — Sam Quinones, Los Angeles Magazine, 25 Sep. 2017
• In the grand scheme of things, the new Space Jam isn’t hateful or inept.
  — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 14 July 2021
• But the late push wasn’t enough to make up for an inept start by both sides of the ball.
  — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 23 Sep. 2024
• The leadership in this country, on the left and the right, have proven to be inept.
  — Kweku Ramel Akyirefi Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5 June 2020
• The Bruins looked inept in many of their first six games.
  — Brian Howell, The Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2019
• It’s not as though the Jazz were wholly inept in Game 2.
  — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 19 Apr. 2022
• Absent Carr, the Raiders have looked inept, both last year and this year.
  — Tom Krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, 13 Oct. 2017
• Janet Yellen, join the other hand, was and is an inept messager.
  — George Calhoun, Forbes, 23 Sep. 2021
• The right to a speedy trial doesn’t mean much if your courts are corrupt or inept.
  — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 28 Jan. 2018
• Other than that, the real suspense will be whether the M’s are inept enough to earn the No. 1 draft pick.
  — Matt Calkins, The Seattle Times, 13 Jan. 2019
• On the flip side, the reason the defenders were on the field so long is because the offense was, for the most part, inept.
  — Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2022
• An inept alien named Zim is sent to Earth by his peers who don't want to deal with him anymore.
  — Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 15 Sep. 2022
• The Texans, after all, are about as inept as an NFL team gets.
  — Mark Maske, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Dec. 2022
• Cal came in, all but inept on offense, but left the game vs. WSU with season highs in points and yards.
  — oregonlive, 21 Nov. 2019
• He is rescued by the inept but loving Clarence, who has been sent to teach him the true value of his life.
  — James Matthew Wilson, WSJ, 24 Dec. 2020
• To be fair, The Brink is guilty of being more misguided than inept.
  — Elizabeth Kerr, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Oct. 2017
• The move to the Rams showed how the Browns coaching staff was absolutely inept in using him in the red zone.
  — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 14 Feb. 2022
• To the contrary: President Biden is remote, inept, out-of-touch, and out-of-step.
  — Matthew Continetti, National Review, 4 Sep. 2021
• For much of the first half Sunday, Seattle’s offense was inept and bungling.
  — Bill Pennington, New York Times, 22 Oct. 2017

Last Updated: 1 Feb 2025