INEPT
What does "INEPT" mean?
Lacking skill or competence; clumsy and ineffective.
Meanings
- Showing a lack of ability or aptitude; bungling. His inept attempt to apologize only made things worse.
- Not suitable or fitting; out of place. An inept remark broke the solemn mood. formal
Did you know?
- 'Inept' is simply 'not apt': Latin 'in-' (not) plus 'aptus' (fitted), so the word literally means 'unfitted' - and 'apt' is its hidden twin.
Word origin
From Latin 'ineptus' (unsuitable, absurd, foolish), from 'in-' (not) plus 'aptus' (fitted, suitable) - so 'inept' is the negative of 'apt', and the two are a matched pair.
Remember it
INEPT = 'in-apt', not apt; drop the negative 'in' and the skill returns as APT.
A little poem
He reached for the right word and grabbed its cousin;
the inept hand spills the dozen for the one.
couplet
What it teaches
Ineptness is not a verdict but a stage; every apt hand was once an unfitted one.
Quick facts
What does INEPT mean?
Lacking skill or competence; clumsy and ineffective.
Is INEPT a valid word?
Yes — INEPT is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is INEPT?
INEPT has 5 letters and 2 syllables.
Where does INEPT come from?
From Latin 'ineptus' (unsuitable, absurd, foolish), from 'in-' (not) plus 'aptus' (fitted, suitable) - so 'inept' is the negative of 'apt', and the two are a matched pair.
What can INEPT teach us?
Ineptness is not a verdict but a stage; every apt hand was once an unfitted one.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.