Word · Frequency #14202
inept
笨拙的
not elegant or graceful in expression
此义指表达不优美、不流畅；不指能力不足。
- 1.
Not able to do something; not proficient; displaying incompetence.
不能做某事；不熟练；表现出无能
- 2.
not elegant or graceful in expression
表达不优雅或不得体
- 3.
Unfit; unsuitable.
不合适的；不适当的
- 4.
generally incompetent and ineffectual
通常无能且无效
- 5.
revealing lack of perceptiveness or judgment or finesse
缺乏洞察力、判断力或技巧
不能做某事；不熟练；表现出无能；表达不优雅或不得体；不合适的；不适当的；通常无能且无效；缺乏洞察力、判断力或技巧
In use
His inept attempt to fix the leak only made the problem worse.
She felt inept at public speaking, so she avoided giving presentations.
The waiter's inept handling of the wine bottle drew everyone's attention.
if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?
inept handling of the account
an inept remark
inept at (doing) something
侧重具体活动或技能的不擅长。
He is inept at handling social situations.
他不擅长处理社交场合。
Connections
Collocations
- socially inept
- 社交上笨拙的；不善社交的
- He is socially inept and often says the wrong thing at parties.他不善社交，在聚会上经常说错话。
- technically inept
- 不擅长技术的；技术无能的
- My father is technically inept and needs help setting up his phone.我父亲不擅长技术，需要别人帮他设置手机。
- inept management
- 无能的管理；管理不善
- The company collapsed because of inept management.这家公司因管理不善而倒闭。
- politically inept
- 政治上无能的；缺乏政治手腕的
- The candidate was politically inept and alienated many voters.这位候选人在政治上十分无能，疏远了许多选民。
- inept comment
- 不得体的话；失礼的评论
- He made an inept comment about her new haircut.他对她的新发型说了一句不得体的话。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
记 inept：in（不）+ ept（像 apt 能干），不能干 → 笨拙无能的。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：work performance reviews、academic or journalistic writing、commenting on social skills inept 多用于正式或半正式语境，比较常见于书面评价（如工作评估、文章评论）中，意为‘缺乏能力的、笨拙的’。口语中出现时常见于 socially inept 等固定搭配，整体语气比 be bad at 更正式。
Pronunciation & Spelling
These words share the stressed /ɛpt/ ending and rhyme with "inept": "adept", "accept", "except", "kept", "slept", "crept". Watch out for lookalikes with different sounds: "apt" is /æpt/ and "concept" is /ˈkɒn.sept/ (stress on the first syllable), so they do not rhyme.
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.