incapacitate
verb
\
Definition of incapacitate
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from incapacitate
\
noun
Synonyms for incapacitate
Synonyms
cripple, disable, lame, maim, mutilate
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of incapacitate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The safety panel’s presentation said Chappell was likely incapacitated, given his history of seizures and penchant for not disclosing his health complications. — Washington Post, "Federal board recommends seatbelts on all new school buses," 22 May 2018 Dear Abby: People in nursing homes or at home — ill, incapacitated or retired — still need social contacts. — Abby, Houston Chronicle, "Father's habit of returning food proves hard to swallow," 6 Apr. 2018 Legal analysts looked to Abu Khattala’s sentencing and whether the government can effectively incapacitate him as likely to influence decisions whether to use civilian courts for similar prosecutions in the future. — Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post, "Libyan militia leader to be sentenced in 2012 Benghazi attacks that killed U.S. ambassador," 27 June 2018 Foutris noted that Rialmo went into the encounter without pepper spray or a Taser, a device that can incapacitate a person with an electric jolt. — Dan Hinkel, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago cop Robert Rialmo takes stand at civil trial over his fatal shooting of 2," 19 June 2018 Jonathan Conricus said that last week aircraft struck a position belonging to Hamas’ naval forces in northern Gaza that incapacitated its first-of-a-kind tunnel to the sea. — Ian Deitch, The Seattle Times, "Israel says it destroys land-to-sea Hamas tunnel in Gaza," 10 June 2018 In addition, Heidi Thomas, Chelan Lasha, Janice Baker-Kinney and Lise-Lotte Lublin each testified last week that Cosby incapacitated them with drugs or wine and then assaulted them in separate incidents decades ago. — Eric Levenson, CNN, "Bill Cosby's trial pushes to its finale after a newsworthy two weeks," 22 Apr. 2018 Constand says the comedian manipulated her into taking pills that incapacitated her, then groped her breasts and penetrated her digitally. — Laura King, latimes.com, "Flying in the face of the #MeToo movement, Cosby's attorney slams accuser as 'con artist'," 10 Apr. 2018 Madrigal wouldn’t comply with police commands, and officers fired five bean bag rounds at him to incapacitate him before arresting him, reported AZ Family. — Gabby Ferreira And Don Sweeney, sacbee, "She confessed to affair with 'better lover.' He beat her with a tire iron at Walmart, cops say," 9 July 2018These 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.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for incapacitate
incapacitate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of incapacitate
: to make (someone or something) unable to work, move, or function in the usual way
See the full definition for incapacitate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
incapacitate
transitive verb
\
Legal Definition of incapacitate
1 : to make legally incapable or ineligible mental illness alone will not incapacitate a person from making a valid contract — Landmark Med. Ctr. v. Gauthier, 635 A.2d 1145 (1994)
2 : to deprive of capacity or natural power an injury that incapacitates the employee
Other Words from incapacitate
\
noun
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on incapacitate
What made you want to look up incapacitate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Words from Greek and Roman Mythology Quiz
-
- Boreal comes from the name of the ancient Greek god of which wind?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
-
Words from Greek and Roman Mythology Quiz
A mythological/etymological mashup!
Take the quiz -
Great Scrabble Words—A Quiz
Words to improve your Scrabble game
Take the quiz -
True or False?
Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.
Take the quiz -
Bee Cubed
Listen to the words and spell through all three levels.
Play the game
Share incapacitate
Resources for incapacitate