competent suggests measuring up to all requirements without question or being adequately adapted to an end.
had no competent notion of what was going on
Example Sentences
… he was tolerated, if not endorsed as the competent painter he was. Markus Zusak, The Book Thief, 2005The crafting of fine violins has proceeded for centuries as a secret art, handed down through apprenticeships from generation to generation. It takes 8 years, at least, to train a competent craftsman, decades to hone a master. Richard Lipkin, Science News, 3 Sept. 1994"Resort cities're transient places," the detective argued. " … That doesn't mean the police aren't competent." Joseph Wambaugh, The Secrets of Harry Bright, 1985… I discovered that Lieutenant Lincoln—a much-admired man hereabouts, and, I imagine, an exceedingly competent physician—was from Worcester … Alexander Woollcott, letter, 2 Oct. 1917 The defendant was declared competent to stand trial. any competent mechanic should be able to fix that See More
Recent Examples on the WebThe law allows a patient to receive life-ending drugs if two doctors certify that the patient has six months or less to live and is mentally competent to choose death, and the patient has made two spoken requests for the drugs. Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Sep. 2022 Dementia, by its very nature, means that in the terminal stage, one is definitely not fully mentally competent. Carolyn Rosenblatt, Forbes, 12 Aug. 2022 One of two men charged in one of the state’s most heinous mass murders has been deemed mentally competent to stand trial for capital murder. Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 1 Aug. 2022 Billionaire Robert Brockman, who faces multiple charges of tax evasion, wire fraud and money laundering, is mentally competent to stand trial, according to a decision issued Monday by Judge George Hanks, Jr., in the Southern District of Texas. Irina Ivanova, CBS News, 24 May 2022 The judge also ruled Henry is mentally competent to stand trial, can understand the charges against him and is capable of assisting in his defense. Michael Kunzelman, Baltimore Sun, 4 May 2022 Senate Bill 88 would allow mentally competent patients with less than six months to live to obtain a prescription from a doctor for a lethal dose of medication. Daniela Altimari, courant.com, 4 Mar. 2022 Society frames the drive to be perfect as a sign of a competent and ambitious individual. Mark Travers, Forbes, 3 Aug. 2022 Surprising was the car’s responsive handling, which, thanks to standard rear-axle steering, enables easier maneuvering—even in dense city traffic—and proved competent and entertaining when taking loopy freeway on- and off-ramps at speed. Robert Ross, Robb Report, 13 July 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, suitable, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin competent-, competens, from present participle of competere — see compete