incapacitate
verb
in·ca·pac·i·tate
ˌin-kə-ˈpa-sə-ˌtāt 
incapacitated; incapacitating
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
The Justice Department in its June 2024 report on problems with policing in Phoenix found that police delayed medical assistance to people who appeared to be incapacitated as a result of the use of force by officers and used unreasonable force on people who had already been wounded by officers.
—
Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
The devices—operated remotely by a team in Texas—provide constant live video feeds to first responders and, in some cases, fire nonlethal projectiles to delay or incapacitate an assailant.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
In other circumstances, this could have been the story of an ambitious young number one who finds himself in the big chair when his captain is incapacitated, forced to confront his inner demons when an unknown — but extremely powerful — enemy threatens to destroy the Farragut.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incapacitate
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Elena Santa Cruz, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2025
To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
The devices—operated remotely by a team in Texas—provide constant live video feeds to first responders and, in some cases, fire nonlethal projectiles to delay or incapacitate an assailant.
—Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
In other circumstances, this could have been the story of an ambitious young number one who finds himself in the big chair when his captain is incapacitated, forced to confront his inner demons when an unknown — but extremely powerful — enemy threatens to destroy the Farragut.
—Richard Edwards, Space.com, 14 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incapacitate
Cite this Entry
“Incapacitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incapacitate. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incapacitate
verb
in·ca·pac·i·tate
ˌin-kə-ˈpas-ə-ˌtāt
incapacitated; incapacitating
: to make incapable : disable
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)
Landmark Med. Ctr. v. Gauthier, 635 A.2d 1145 (1994)2
: to deprive of capacity or natural power
an injury that incapacitates the employee
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