weaponized incompetence
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Intentional ineptness used to manipulate or disrupt
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
sự bất tài được sử dụng để thao túng hoặc phá hoại
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: incompetence used as a weapon
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
The company's weaponized incompetence led to a series of costly mistakes
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “weaponized incompetence” mean?
Intentional ineptness used to manipulate or disrupt Literally: incompetence used as a weapon
Is “weaponized incompetence” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.