1
as in incapacitates
to cause severe or permanent injury to
a promising athlete who was severely disabled in a plane crash
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in paralyzes
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
disabled the controls for unauthorized users
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of disables
But the virus that causes Ebola somehow disables this response.
—
Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 2 June 2026
Recently, researchers in Germany developed a chain-launching drone interceptor that disables UAVs by tangling their spinning rotors midair.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026
Imagining an eternity of this, Creasy disables his car’s braking system and drives into a concrete pylon.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
The Settings tab also enables and disables auto-transparency, which adjusts the lenses based on how much light the glasses detect, and auto-shutdown, which fully turns off the glasses when they're plugged in but aren't receiving an active signal, to help save the connected device's battery life.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
Kids see a limited version of Roblox that removes riskier content and disables communication.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026
The use of shock waves, or blast overpressure (BOP), kills or disables enemies with the force of the explosion, vaporizing the weapon’s plastic outer shell.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
The intensity of the heat disables my phone for an hour.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Some even have an immobilizer that disables the ignition if thieves have a key.
—Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Jonathan Lambert, NPR, 2 June 2026
Recently, researchers in Germany developed a chain-launching drone interceptor that disables UAVs by tangling their spinning rotors midair.
—Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 8 May 2026
Imagining an eternity of this, Creasy disables his car’s braking system and drives into a concrete pylon.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 30 Apr. 2026
The Settings tab also enables and disables auto-transparency, which adjusts the lenses based on how much light the glasses detect, and auto-shutdown, which fully turns off the glasses when they're plugged in but aren't receiving an active signal, to help save the connected device's battery life.
—Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 29 Apr. 2026
Kids see a limited version of Roblox that removes riskier content and disables communication.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Apr. 2026
The use of shock waves, or blast overpressure (BOP), kills or disables enemies with the force of the explosion, vaporizing the weapon’s plastic outer shell.
—Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
The intensity of the heat disables my phone for an hour.
—Noo Saro-Wiwa, The Dial, 24 Mar. 2026
Some even have an immobilizer that disables the ignition if thieves have a key.
—Jeff Wagner, CBS News, 24 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disables
Verb
-
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.—
Isabella Wandermurem,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The intercepting Raider drone follows the target, incapacitates the hostile drone using a mesh net and a parachute to safely lower it to the ground.—
Abhishek Bhardwaj,
Interesting Engineering,
29 June 2025
Verb
-
Once an octopus ambushes and bites its prey, the venom in its saliva paralyzes the prey, allowing the octopus to consume it.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Monster blizzard paralyzes Northeast with extreme snow, soaring power outages.—
,
FOXNews.com,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.—
Omar Al-Ubaydli,
semafor.com,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Holloway stars as John Matherson, a college professor and former military officer charged with protecting his community after a catastrophic electromagnetic pulse attack cripples the nation.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
But the prospect of it undermines the premise of the Alt5-World Liberty deal.—
Matt Peterson,
CNBC,
9 June 2026
-
Sorsby’s eligibility despite placing thousands of bets will likely attract criticism that the court ruling undermines the NCAA’s anti-gambling rules.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
8 June 2026
Verb
-
On the video the bear then moves into the factory compound and injures a second male employee in his 60s.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
2 June 2026
-
This storyline later appeared in the second season of Girls, as Dunham’s character Hannah is overwhelmed with the anxiety of writing a novel and similarly injures herself.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Restricting those channels weakens influence competitors have struggled to match.—
Yinka Adegoke,
semafor.com,
15 June 2026
-
Iran’s government warned that any division at home over the deal weakens its negotiating position, and those criticizing negotiators are taking aim at a national decision.—
Julia Frankel,
Fortune,
14 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disables. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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