Efficiency
Efficiency noun - The power to produce a desired result.
Usage example: the proven efficiency of citizen patrols in reducing crime in urban neighborhoods
Incompetence
Incompetence noun - The lack of sufficient ability, power, or means.
Usage example: the astounding incompetence of the new assistant
Efficiency is an antonym for incompetence.
Nearby Words: incompetent, incompetently
How words are described
Both words in one sentence
- And while the government in 1984 is so terrifying because of its extreme efficiency, in Brazil the horror comes from its utter incompetence and Kafkaesque bureaucratic insanity that can drive even the most ordinary people to insanity and terrorism, if the latter even exists.
Source: Crapsack World / Film
Cite this Source
Incompetence and Efficiency. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/efficiency/incompetence
Efficiency & Incompetence. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/efficiency/incompetence>.
Incompetence or Efficiency. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/efficiency/incompetence.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "efficiency" and "incompetence" have occurred on timeline