disabled

1 of 2

adjective

dis·​abled dis-ˈā-bəld 

diz-ˈā-

1

a

: impaired or limited by a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition : affected by disability

Decades of government policy and a Supreme Court decision … have established that public services for all disabled people must be provided in the least restrictive and most integrated environment possible.

—Sallie Tisdale

For disabled travelers—or anyone nursing an injury—successful trips require planning. … Rugged or remote areas may require some give and take on your part, including physical assistance or workarounds.

—Linda Burbank

… 4,000 disabled athletes from 125 nations competing in 18 sports.

—John Shaw

b

: incapacitated by illness or injury

… 17.4% of all match-ending injuries, were attributable to OT (orthopedic trauma). Two such stoppages involved multiple roundhouse kicks directed at the lateral aspect of the knee. The disabled competitors were unable to continue because of marked pain with weight bearing.

—George J. Buse and Robert M. Wood

2

of a device or mechanism : rendered inoperative (as by being damaged or deliberately altered)

a disabled alarm

They would have pulled out but they were waiting on the Iraqi police to finish their report and there was the issue of the disabled fuel truck …

—David Abrams

disabled

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of disable

Synonyms of disabled

Adjective

• impaired
• exceptional

Examples of disabled in a Sentence

Adjective

The organization is working to protect the rights of disabled veterans.

the disabled man was unable to climb the stairs without help

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

An unidentified projectile struck and disabled an oil tanker about nine nautical miles northeast of Oman’s Ash Shishah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported. — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

For much of her career, Graham has worked with disabled people. — Charles Bethea, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026

Graise is a double amputee who lost his legs at a young age and has become an advocate for realistic and thoughtful depictions of disabled persons in the arts. — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026

At the time of Zywicki's murder, a semi-trailer truck was seen near her disabled car, with a truck driver described as a white male between the ages of 35 and 40, over 6 feet tall, with dark, bushy hair. — Adam Harrington, CBS News, 23 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

from past participle of disable

First Known Use

Adjective

1633, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing disabled

• disabled list
• intellectually disabled
• the disabled
• the intellectually disabled

Rhymes for disabled

• enabled
• mislabeled
• unlabeled
• unlabelled
• abled
• cabled
• fabled
• gabled
• labeled
• labelled
• stabled
• tabled

Kids Definition

disabled

adjective

: deprived of the power to perform one or more tasks (as climbing stairs or lifting heavy items) by illness or injury

also : functioning physically or mentally below normal levels in a way that limits or interferes with one's ability to receive an education or perform a job

Medical Definition

disabled

adjective

dis·​abled

1

: impaired or limited by a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition : affected by disability

2

: incapacitated by illness, injury, or wounds

Legal Definition

disabled

adjective

: having a disability