as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
hired a supremely incapable assistant who only made a mess of things
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Recent Examples of incapable
This isn’t to say that Leith and Hollywood are incapable of doing their job because of their age.
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Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 28 Nov. 2024
This rhetoric continues conservatives’ history of weaponizing research showing that trans people are more likely to be diagnosed as autistic than cis people in order to baselessly argue that trans youth — and autistic people — are incapable of making their own decisions about their healthcare care.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 26 Nov. 2024
Shostakovich is reduced to a hapless victim of circumstance, incapable of speaking in an independent voice.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Surrender, then, will come not when the opponent’s numbers are diminished and its armory empty but when the survivors’ shield of silicon is rendered incapable of saving its technological assets—and finally its human deputies.
—Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incapable 
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 28 Nov. 2024
This rhetoric continues conservatives’ history of weaponizing research showing that trans people are more likely to be diagnosed as autistic than cis people in order to baselessly argue that trans youth — and autistic people — are incapable of making their own decisions about their healthcare care.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 26 Nov. 2024
Shostakovich is reduced to a hapless victim of circumstance, incapable of speaking in an independent voice.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Surrender, then, will come not when the opponent’s numbers are diminished and its armory empty but when the survivors’ shield of silicon is rendered incapable of saving its technological assets—and finally its human deputies.
—Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for incapable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapable
Adjective
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But that also would mean keeping the grossly unfit Patel from being confirmed.Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Boards, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Dec. 2024
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In April, the indictment says, Feldstein failed a Shin Bet security-clearance check and was found unfit to handle highly classified material.Gershom Gorenberg, The Atlantic, 25 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Skakel lobbied for a retrial on various grounds over the years but was denied until 2013, when a Connecticut judge upheld his assertion that his previous defense had been incompetent.Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 27 Dec. 2024
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These are usually people with severe mental illnesses, substance abuse disorders or developmental disabilities who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial.Eva Wen, Journal Sentinel, 23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Little jumped in the pool in her backyard to put out the flames, and was then hospitalized, unable to move with second- and third-degree burns all over her body.Kate Gibson, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2024
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Certain fields of study—particularly those related to technology and business—have successfully leveraged hybrid and fully online models to reach students who might otherwise be unable to attend in person.Joe Way, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near incapable
Cite this Entry
“Incapable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapable. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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