competent

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Related to competent: compassionate, competitive

com·pe·tent

(kŏm′pĭ-tənt)

adj.

1. Properly or sufficiently qualified; capable: a competent typist.

2. Adequate for the purpose: a competent performance.

3. Law Legally qualified or fit to perform an act.

[Middle English, adequate, from Old French, from Latin competēns, competent-, present participle of competere, to be suitable; see compete.]

com′pe·tent·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

competent

(ˈkɒmpɪtənt)

adj

1. having sufficient skill, knowledge, etc; capable

2. suitable or sufficient for the purpose: a competent answer.

3. (Law) law (of a witness) having legal capacity; qualified to testify, etc

4. (foll by: to) belonging as a right; appropriate

[C14: from Latin competēns, from competere to be competent; see compete]

ˈcompetently adv

ˈcompetentness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

com•pe•tent

(ˈkɒm pɪ tənt)

adj.

1. having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc., for some purpose.

2. adequate but not exceptional.

3. (esp. of a witness) qualified as to age, soundness of mind, or the like.

[1350–1400; Middle English (< Anglo-French) < Latin competent-, s. of competēns, present participle of competere to meet, agree]

com′pe•tent•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj. 1. competent - properly or sufficiently qualified or capable or efficient; "a competent typist"

capable - (usually followed by `of') having capacity or ability; "capable of winning"; "capable of hard work"; "capable of walking on two feet"

efficient - being effective without wasting time or effort or expense; "an efficient production manager"; "efficient engines save gas"

qualified - meeting the proper standards and requirements and training for an office or position or task; "many qualified applicants for the job"

skilled - having or showing or requiring special skill; "only the most skilled gymnasts make an Olympic team"; "a skilled surgeon has many years of training and experience"; "a skilled reconstruction of her damaged elbow"; "a skilled trade"

incompetent - not qualified or suited for a purpose; "an incompetent secret service"; "the filming was hopeless incompetent"

2. competent - adequate for the purpose; "a competent performance"

adequate, equal - having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task; "she had adequate training"; "her training was adequate"; "she was adequate to the job"; "he was equal to the task"

3. competent - legally qualified or sufficient; "a competent court"; "competent testimony"

incompetent, unqualified - legally not qualified or sufficient; "a wife is usually considered unqualified to testify against her husband"; "incompetent witnesses"

competent

adjective

1. able, skilled, capable, clever, endowed, proficient He was a loyal and very competent civil servant.
able cowboy (informal), incapable, inexperienced, incompetent, unskilled, inexpert

2. fit, qualified, equal, appropriate, suitable, sufficient, adequate I don't feel competent to deal with a medical emergency.
fit inadequate, unqualified

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

competent

adjective

1. Having the ability to perform well:

able, capable, good, skilled, skillful.

2. Being what is needed without being in excess:

adequate, comfortable, decent, enough, satisfactory, sufficient.

Translations

مُؤَهَّل، كُفءمُخْتَصّ

schopnýoprávněný

kompetentkvalificeretdygtigegnet

pätevä

sposoban

hozzáértőjó: nagyon jó

hæfur, fær

competente competenza

有能な

유능한

kompetencijakompetentingaskvalifikuotaikvalifikuotas

kompetentslietpratīgs

behörig

ที่มีความสามารถ

usta yetkin

có khả năng

有能力的胜任的

competent

[ˈkɒmpɪtənt] ADJ

1. (= proficient) [person, pilot, nurse] → competente, capaz
to be competent at sth → ser competente en algo
students must be competent in five basic subjects → los estudiantes tienen que ser competentes en or dominar cinco asignaturas fundamentales
to feel competent to do sth → sentirse capacitado para hacer algo

2. (= satisfactory) [work, performance] → aceptable
his work is competent, but not very original → su trabajo es aceptable pero no muy original
a competent knowledge of the language → un conocimiento or dominio suficiente del idioma
he did a very competent job → hizo su trabajo muy bien
a highly competent piece of work → un trabajo muy bien hecho

3. (Jur) [court] → competente ; [witness] → hábil

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

competent

[ˈkɒmpɪtənt] adj

[person] → compétent(e), capable
to be competent at sth [+ task, activity] → être compétent(e) en qch
to be competent at one's job → être compétent(e) dans son travail
to be competent at doing sth → être compétent(e) pour faire qch
to be competent to do sth (legally) → être compétent(e) pour faire qch, avoir compétence pour faire qch; (mentally) → être capable de faire qch, être apte à faire qch

[work, performance] → satisfaisant(e)

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

competent

adj

→ fähig, befähigt (in zu); (in a particular field) → kompetent ; (= adequate) knowledge, understanding → angemessen, adäquat ; his English is quite competent → sein Englisch ist recht gut ; to be/feel competent to do something → kompetent or fähig sein/sich kompetent or fähig fühlen, etw zu tun ; to do a competent job → gute Arbeit leisten

(Jur) → zuständig ; evidence, witness → zulässig

(form: = relevant) to be competent/not competent (business, question) → von/ohne or nicht von Belang sein

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

competent

[ˈkɒmpɪtənt] adj → competente
this court is not competent to deal with that → questa corte non è competente in materia

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

competent

(ˈkompətənt) adjective

capable; skilled. a competent pianist; competent to drive a car. bevoeg, bekwaam; bedrewe, vaardig; geoorloof; regsbevoeg مُؤَهَّل، كُفء компетентен competente schopný, oprávněný fähig egnet; kvalificeret; dygtig; kompetent ικανός competente asjatundlik ماهرريال کاردان pätevä compétent מיומן समर्थ ovlašten, nadležan, sposoban, stručan (nagyon) jó; alkalmas ahli hæfur, fær competente 有能な 유능한 kompetentingas, geras, kvalifikuotas kompetents; lietpratīgs cekap bekwaam habil, dyktig, kompetent kompetentny وړ، منا سب، لايق، جوړ، برابر competente competent компетентный schopný sposoben, izkušen; pristojen stručan kompetent, skicklig ที่มีความสามารถ usta 有能力的 компетентний; спроможний اہل thạo 有能力的

ˈcompetence noun

bevoegdheid; regsbevoegdheid, kompetensie أَهْلِيَّه، جَدارَه، كَفاءه، способност competência schopnost, oprávnění die Tauglichkeit egnethed; dygtighed ικανότητα competencia asjatundlikkus مهارت؛ کاردانی kompetenssi compétence מיומנות सामर्थ्य kompetencija, nadležnost, sposobnost, stručnost hozzáértés, alkalmasság berkemampuan hæfni, færni competenza 能力 능력 kompetencija kompetence kecekapan bekwaamheid kompetanse, dyktighet, kvalifikasjon fachowość وړتوب، وړتيا، منا سبت، لياقت، كفايت competência competenţă компетентность schopnosť sposobnost; pristojnost stručnost kompetens ความสามารถ ustalık 能力 компетентність; спроможність اہلیت năng lực 能力

ˈcompetently adverb

bedrewe; bekwaam بِكَفاءَه، بِجَدارَه، بِأَهْلِيَّه вещо competentemente schopně fähig dygtigt; kompetent ικανά competentemente asjatundlikult ماهرانه pätevästi avec compétence בְּמיוּמָנוּת सामर्थ्यपूर्वक dostatan, dovoljan, vrstan, sposoban hozzáértően mampu kunnáttusamlega, fagmannlega con competenza 十分に 유능하게 gerai, kvalifikuotai kompetenti secara cekap bekwaam dyktig, kompetent fachowo ماهرانه competentemente cu competenţă компетентно kvalifikovane ustrezno stručno kompetent, skickligt ซึ่งมีความสามารถ ustalıkla 勝任地 компетентно اہل طور پر một cách thành thạo 胜任地

competent

→ مُخْتَصّ schopný kompetent fähig ικανός competente pätevä compétent sposoban competente 有能な 유능한 competent kompetent fachowy competente компетентный behörig ที่มีความสามารถ yetkin có khả năng 胜任的

com·pe·tent

a. competente, capaz, hábil.

competent

adj capaz, competente

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

I make small pretense of showing anyone how he ought to look at objects of interest beyond the sea--other books do that, and therefore, even if I were competent to do it, there is no need.

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A dictionary of obsolete and obsolescent words would not only be singularly rich in strong and sweet parts of speech; it would add large possessions to the vocabulary of every competent writer who might not happen to be a competent reader.

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Inform the gentleman at once--either by word of mouth or by writing--of the position in which he stands: and authorize him to place the case in the hands of a person known to you both, who is competent to decide on what you are to do next.

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"I expressed to you my conviction a little way back that it was doubtful whether poor Lady Janet would be much longer competent to manage her own affairs.

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I have, however, decided to include Ou-Yang Hsiu of the Sung dynasty, if only for the sake of his "Autumn", which many competent critics hold to be one of the finest things in Chinese literature.

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Williamson had lost her reason and the servants were, of course, not competent to testify.

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Let it not be imagined, however, that I consider myself competent to reform the errors and abuses of society, but only that I would fain contribute my humble quota towards so good an aim; and if I can gain the public ear at all, I would rather whisper a few wholesome truths therein than much soft nonsense.

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I think this must be admitted, when we find that there are hardly any domestic races, either amongst animals or plants, which have not been ranked by some competent judges as mere varieties, and by other competent judges as the descendants of aboriginally distinct species.

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Hussey entirely competent to attend to all his affairs.

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As the safety of the whole is the interest of the whole, and cannot be provided for without government, either one or more or many, let us inquire whether one good government is not, relative to the object in question, more competent than any other given number whatever.

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A certain mysteriousness hangs around the quality of speed as it was displayed by the old sailing-ships commanded by a competent seaman.

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As a company of men competent to superintend the direction of a country at war, you must permit me to say that I consider you have done well in placing certain matters in our hands, and that you will do better still not to interfere."

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