1
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。
笨拙的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
笨拙的
not elegant or graceful in expression
He is inept at handling social situations.
他不擅长处理社交场合。
此义指表达不优美、不流畅；不指能力不足。
不能做某事；不熟练；表现出无能
Not able to do something; not proficient; displaying incompetence.
表达不优雅或不得体
not elegant or graceful in expression
不合适的；不适当的
Unfit; unsuitable.
通常无能且无效
generally incompetent and ineffectual
His inept attempt to fix the leak only made the problem worse.
他笨拙的修理尝试反而让问题更糟。
AI contextual example
She felt inept at public speaking, so she avoided giving presentations.
她觉得自己不擅长公开演讲，所以避免做演示。
AI contextual example
The waiter's inept handling of the wine bottle drew everyone's attention.
服务员笨拙地处理酒瓶，引起了所有人的注意。
AI contextual example
if the rumor is true, can anything be more inept than to repeat it now?
如果谣言是真的,现在再重复它还有比这更愚蠢的事吗?
WordNet
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。
用于领域或范围，指缺乏能力。
She proved inept in financial matters.
她在财务问题上显得无能。
用于角色或职位，表示不胜任。
He is inept as a manager.
他作为经理是不称职的。
Not this
He is an inept.
Use this
He is inept.
inept是形容词，不能用作名词。应直接使用形容词形式作表语。
Not this
He is inept to solve the problem.
Use this
He is inept at solving the problem.
inept常与介词at搭配表示‘在某方面无能’，而不是接不定式to。应使用介词at+动名词。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
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。
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。
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。
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。
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。
Use inept naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记 inept：in（不）+ ept（像 apt 能干），不能干 → 笨拙无能的。
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。
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.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.