inapt

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These two words are often confused because they overlap in their basic meanings 'inappropriate, unsuitable' and 'unskilful'. Inapt tends to mean rather the first of these, and applies only to actions and circumstances, whereas inept means rather the second, is much more common, and applies to people as well as actions:

In this respect, the oft-quoted cathedral metaphor is not inapt—J. Richards et al., 1988

She believes it would be politically inept to cut such training programmes at a time when the jobless total is rising fast—Today, 1992

Nicholas was inept at all forms of promiscuity except gossip—Esquire, 1992

His inapt use of the colloquial 'just for kicks' undermines his claim—Guardian, 2007.

So if you say that a person's reply is inapt and inept, you mean that it was both inappropriate and clumsily expressed.

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adjective

1. Not suited to circumstances: improper, inappropriate, incongruous, inept, malapropos, unapt, unbecoming, unbefitting, unfit, unseemly, unsuitable. Idioms: out of place. See agree/disagree, usual/unusual.
2. Not suited to a given purpose: ill-suited, inappropriate, unfit, unsuitable, unsuited. See ability/inability.
3. Lacking the qualities, as efficiency or skill, required to produce desired results: incapable, incompetent, inefficient, inept, inexpert, unskilled, unskillful, unworkmanlike. See ability/inability.

adj

Definition: incompetent; not suitable
Antonyms: apt, competent, happy, suitable, suited

  See crossword solutions for the clue Inapt.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - upassende, malplaceret, uegnet, uduelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
onbekwaam, ondeskundig

Français (French)
adj. - inepte, inhabile, inexpert, peu approprié

Deutsch (German)
adj. - unpassend, unfähig, ungeschickt

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αδέξιος, ανεπιτήδειος

Italiano (Italian)
maldestro

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - inadequado

Русский (Russian)
неумелый, несоответствующий

Español (Spanish)
adj. - inepto, inhábil, inadecuado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - olämplig, malplacerad, tafatt, bortkommen

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
不适当的, 不相配的, 不合宜的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 不適當的, 不相配的, 不合宜的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 부적당한, 서툰

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不適当な, 適性のない, 不器用な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) غير ملائم, غير بارع‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮לא מוכשר, לא מיומן, לא הולם‬

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