incapacitate

verb

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

incapacitated; incapacitating

transitive verb

1

: to deprive of capacity or natural power : disable

an injury that incapacitated her

learned how to incapacitate an attacker

2

: to make legally incapable or ineligible

Infancy does not incapacitate the infant from bringing the action …

—Henry v. City of New York, 724 N.E.2d 372 (1999)

incapacitation

ˌin-kə-ˌpa-sə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Synonyms of incapacitate

• paralyze
• cripple
• undermine

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 on the Web

There's an apocryphal story about its creations; supposedly Kryptonite was invented so Superman's voice actor Bud Collyer could take vacations while the Man of Steel was incapacitated. — James Grebey, Time, 26 June 2026

Airbus UpNext's DragonFly project is developing AI that manages complex emergencies autonomously when the crew is incapacitated. — Tanya Eves, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

According to the law enforcement investigation, Garcia activated her Taser seven times in a row in about a minute, with the State Patrol concluding that three to four of those activations occurred after Tomlinson was already incapacitated by the initial Taser deployments. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 19 June 2026

The lieutenant governor is first in line for succession if a governor is incapacitated. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for incapacitate

• borosilicate
• decontaminate
• deoxycholate
• deteriorate
• differentiate
• diisocyanate
• dinoflagellate
• excommunicate
• insubordinate
• intercorporate
• interpenetrate
• isocyanate

Kids Definition

incapacitate

verb

in·​ca·​pac·​i·​tate ˌin-kə-ˈpas-ə-ˌtāt 

incapacitated; incapacitating

: to make incapable : disable

incapacitation

-ˌpas-ə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

incapacitate

transitive verb

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

incapacitated; incapacitating

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

incapacitation

-ˌpa-sə-ˈtā-shən 

noun