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# competent

«competent» in Mova's school dictionary: **able to do something well enough or properly** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

adjective (competent; more competent)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Competent means able to do something well enough or properly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#m1)

2) (law) Allowed or able by law to decide or act. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In school reports (a competent reader), jobs (a competent driver), safety and law.

### examples

- She is a competent swimmer now. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x1)
- We need a competent adult to supervise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x2)
- The doctor was calm and competent. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x3)
- He's a competent cook but not a great one. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x4)
- Is he competent to sign the papers? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x5)
- Only a competent adult should use the chainsaw. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x6)
- He engaged a competent dragon to look after her, and also a respectable griffin whose birth and upbringing he knew all about. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/#x7)

### note

«Competent» can sound like «OK, good enough», not «excellent». Opposite: incompetent. Pattern: competent at/in something.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «competent» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/competent/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.