incapacitate

verb in·ca·pac·i·tate \ ˌin-kə-ˈpa-sə-ˌtāt \

|Updated on: 7 Aug 2018

Examples: incapacitate in a Sentence

Definition of incapacitate

incapacitated; incapacitating

transitive verb

1 : to make legally incapable or ineligible

2 : to deprive of capacity or natural power : disable

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incapacitation

play \ˌin-kə-ˌpa-sə-ˈtā-shən\ noun

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See incapacitate defined for kids

Examples of incapacitate in a Sentence

The class teaches you how to incapacitate an attacker.
The stroke left her completely incapacitated.
He was incapacitated by the pain.
a computer system incapacitated by software problems

Recent Examples of incapacitate from the Web

Correction commissioner Thomas Turco III decided that Phillips isn’t incapacitated enough to be freed.

— yvonne abraham, BostonGlobe.com, "At Department of Correction, a death of compassion," 28 June 2018
Legal analysts said the ability of the government to incapacitate Abu Khattala through a life sentence or its practical equivalent would influence decisions whether to seek civilian prosecutions in similar cases in the future.

— spencer s. hsu, latimes.com, "Libyan militia leader gets 22-year sentence in Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. ambassador," 27 June 2018
In the most severe cases, people would become emaciated, delirious, and incapacitated.

— Daily Intelligencer, "This Is What a Nuclear Bomb Looks Like," 12 June 2018
Their plan: to incapacitate Gooch (played by Ann Dowd in the film) with a taser, make off with the book, and fence it in Amsterdam.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "The Slick but Empty True Crime of American Animals," 1 June 2018
But the first wave of violence removes or incapacitates what turn out to be the most likable characters here.

— dennis harvey, chicagotribune.com, "'Feral' review: Lost campers, a mysterious hermit and second-rate zombies," 31 May 2018
The drug incapacitated the man, the police report states.

— lavendrick smith, charlotteobserver, "Police are investigating new drink tampering report. This time in Plaza Midwood.," 20 June 2018
Afterward, there is often nausea and incapacitating pain in the head.

— katy schneider, The Cut, "Why Did It Take So Long to Figure Out Migraines?," 22 May 2018
More recently, and again Wednesday, the starting pitching has been incapacitating.

— vahe gregorian, kansascity, "Try as he might to stay positive, even Ned Yost struggles as Royals fall to 13-30 | The Kansas City Star," 16 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incapacitate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.