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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of disables
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
For more information on why The Athletic occasionally disables comments on stories, please click here.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2026
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
For more information on why The Athletic occasionally disables comments on stories, please click here.
—James McNicholas, New York Times, 12 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
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
-
The author takes an overnight Amtrak journey instead of a flight to Washington as the government shutdown cripples Atlanta’s airport.—
Bill Barrow,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
-
These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Elsewhere on that flank, Pedro Lima and Rodrigo Gomes are talented players who, even allowing for the naivety of youth that sometimes undermines their efforts, Wolves are likely to want to keep for next season in the Championship.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
12 May 2026
-
Academic struggles Stoner’s career is briefly thwarted by Hollis Lomax, a fellow professor who undermines Stoner’s professional advancement.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
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
-
In her desperation to ask Val for a job on the new sitcom, Sharon falls and injures herself.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But the weakening of that regime weakens the proxies as well.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 May 2026
-
Jeff Marks, director of portfolio analysis for the Club, said the report weakens the case for near-term Federal Reserve rate cuts because the labor market remains stable.—
Alexa LoMonaco,
CNBC,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disables.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disables. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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