Know your English | What does ‘inept’ mean? Premium
The Hindu
Learn how to pronounce "inept" and its meaning, along with examples of being inept in various situations.
“Tell me, how do you pronounce i…n…e…p…t?”
“The first syllable sounds like the word ‘in’, while the ‘ept’ sounds like the ‘ept’ in ‘slept’, ‘kept’ and ‘wept’. The word is pronounced in-EPT with the stress on the second syllable. Any idea what the word means?”
“Doesn’t it mean not very skilful? When you’re ‘inept’, you’re not good at something.”
“Very good! That’s exactly what it means. When you say that someone is inept, what you’re suggesting is that the individual is terrible at what he does. Naresh went to an inept accountant, and ended up losing all his money.”
“I was told by several people that Jai is an inept dentist.”
“Really? I’ve gone to him a couple of times, and I’ve had no problems with him. ‘Inept’ can also be used to mean not very capable or clumsy. The Vice Chancellor’s inept remarks led to the students going on strike.”
“The UN has often been criticised for its inept handling of the West Asia problem.”