disabled

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

Synonyms of disabled

• impaired
• exceptional

Examples of disabled in a Sentence

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

More than 36% of participants are in families with disabled or elderly adults, and more than 45% are in working families. —Maia Pandey, jsonline.com, 3 Feb. 2026

Vermillion is a clinical social worker and a service-disabled veteran who served in Iraq with the Army National Guard. —Timothy Vermillion, New York Daily News, 3 Feb. 2026

The residents were initially evacuated but were allowed to shelter in the apartment’s lounge area and residents who are disabled received assistance from the firefighters, officials said. —Shambhavi Rimal, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Feb. 2026

The statewide setting was immediately disabled on January 5 once the MVPD identified the issue, the city said. —Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 2 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

from past participle of disable

First Known Use

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