incapacitated

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adjective

in·​ca·​pac·​i·​tat·​ed ˌin-kə-ˈpa-sə-ˌtā-təd 

: deprived of capacity or natural power : made incapable of or unfit for normal functioning

… can care for cats while the owners are away or are temporarily incapacitated and unable to care for their pets.

—Karen Commings

… when an incapacitated patient hasn't left a living will or designated someone to make his or her medical decisions, families agree on what to do anyway in about two-thirds of the cases …

—Jeff Chu et al.

Eventually, he [Washington Roebling] became bedridden, in a room that overlooked the bridge under construction, with Emily effectively serving as assistant engineer and intermediary between the incapacitated chief engineer and his lieutenants on the construction site.

—Henry Petroski

incapacitated

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past tense and past participle of incapacitate

Examples of incapacitated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Israeli President Isaac Herzog pardoned a soldier who shot and killed an incapacitated Palestinian attacker in the occupied West Bank in 2016, despite opposition from the military’s chief of staff. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026

Chinese military aircraft researchers are exploring flight-control systems that could keep future fighters flying if pilots become incapacitated. — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026

Toward the end of the film, that kid is grown up and stuck in an incestuous relationship with his mother, while a nearly incapacitated Dau sits drooling nearby. — Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Alejandro Diaz Torriente, 67, inserted himself into the incapacitated woman’s life to take her money and her property, according to a 2023 arrest affidavit. — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 27 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1769, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for incapacitated

• ameliorated
• decontaminated
• deoxygenated
• deteriorated
• differentiated
• disarticulated
• excommunicated
• individuated
• misappropriated
• monounsaturated
• multinucleated
• nonaffiliated