feckless

/ˈfɛkləs/

/ˈfɛklɪs/

If a newspaper editorial describes a politician as feckless, you might wonder, "What is feck, and why doesn’t he have any?” In fact, the columnist is accusing the politician of being irresponsible and incompetent.

Did you know that most varieties of English are in fact “feck”-less? They don’t contain a word feck, only the negative counterpart feckless. The “feck” in feckless began as a short form of effect used in the Scots dialect. So feckless essentially means "ineffective," but is also used to describe someone who is irresponsible, incompetent, inept, or without purpose in life.

Definitions of feckless

1. adjective

   generally incompetent and ineffectual
   “feckless attempts to repair the plumbing”

   synonyms: inept

   incompetent

   not qualified or suited for a purpose
2. adjective

   not fit to assume responsibility
   synonyms:

   irresponsible

   showing lack of care for consequences