1
as in crippling
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 paralyzing
to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move
disabled the controls for unauthorized users
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of disabling
Originally, the bill required schools to purchase a device to hold the phone, disabling it from use.
—
Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Andrew Wylam Andrew Wylam found himself on the front lines of a new crisis when long COVID emerged as a severe and disabling disease.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
Inspectors from the state Department of Motor Vehicles responded and found that the commercial vehicle that was involved, a 2020 Hino box truck, sustained disabling damage.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
Louisville beat its Boulder County neighbor to the punch by several months, disabling its Flock cameras at the end of June and removing them by the start of October.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Additional options allow toggling Anisotropic Materials, Chromatic Aberration, and Bloom, and disabling Global Illumination entirely.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026
Climate change itself has become a major risk factor, with heatwaves disabling power plants and droughts drying up hydro reservoirs.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Youthful pond hockey injuries and years of surfing scrapes have been absorbed as painful but far from disabling.
—Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2026
Civil liberties groups that publish protest safety guidance consistently recommend disabling the face and fingerprint unlocking features and using a strong passcode.
—Nicole M. Bennett, The Conversation, 21 Jan. 2026
Carole Carlson, Chicago Tribune, 20 Feb. 2026
Andrew Wylam Andrew Wylam found himself on the front lines of a new crisis when long COVID emerged as a severe and disabling disease.
—Daniel Fusch, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
Inspectors from the state Department of Motor Vehicles responded and found that the commercial vehicle that was involved, a 2020 Hino box truck, sustained disabling damage.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 18 Feb. 2026
Louisville beat its Boulder County neighbor to the punch by several months, disabling its Flock cameras at the end of June and removing them by the start of October.
—John Aguilar, Denver Post, 10 Feb. 2026
Additional options allow toggling Anisotropic Materials, Chromatic Aberration, and Bloom, and disabling Global Illumination entirely.
—Jennifer Maas, Variety, 3 Feb. 2026
Climate change itself has become a major risk factor, with heatwaves disabling power plants and droughts drying up hydro reservoirs.
—Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 30 Jan. 2026
Youthful pond hockey injuries and years of surfing scrapes have been absorbed as painful but far from disabling.
—Fred Schruers, Rolling Stone, 26 Jan. 2026
Civil liberties groups that publish protest safety guidance consistently recommend disabling the face and fingerprint unlocking features and using a strong passcode.
—Nicole M. Bennett, The Conversation, 21 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disabling
Verb
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After June 2025, when Israel (for 12 days) and the United States (for one) launched strikes aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear program and decapitating the IRGC leadership, Khamenei curtailed public appearances.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
28 Feb. 2026
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So if half that tariff money goes away, that will mean a larger, but not crippling federal deficit.—
Nina Totenberg,
NPR,
21 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Though brief, Yoon’s martial law decree triggered the country’s most severe political crisis in decades, paralyzing politics and high-level diplomacy and rattling financial markets.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Feb. 2026
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The differences between the two major models, along with other forecast guidance, equates to the difference between a paralyzing blizzard along the I-95 corridor and a largely forgettable bout of light snow.—
Andrew Freedman,
CNN Money,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Larter's Angela has been put through the wringer on the second season of Landman, from getting into an explosive battle with Thornton's Tommy over her period to getting arrested for incapacitating two health inspectors during a visit to her local nursing home.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Jan. 2026
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Dysentery and scurvy ravaged the vessel, killing or incapacitating many on board.—
The Week UK,
TheWeek,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The challenge for policymakers will be to curb misleading promotion without cutting off patients’ access to reliable information or undermining their role in directing their own care – and that will likely require addressing broader issues in the health care system.—
Anna Chorniy,
The Conversation,
27 Feb. 2026
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In the run-up to the midterm elections later this year, Kennedy appears to be shifting his focus from undermining the childhood-vaccine schedule—his least popular priority, according to one recent poll—to battling the food industry, which enjoys broad support.—
Tom Bartlett,
The Atlantic,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Armed with a pistol and a rifle, a man opened fire from outside the venue on the city’s bustling Sixth Street, killing two people and wounding 14 others, according to the Austin Police Department and the FBI’s San Antonio Division.—
Amanda Musa,
CNN Money,
2 Mar. 2026
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Iranian state media said at least 200 people were killed in the country, while Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel and allies in the Middle East, killing at least six people in Israel and one in Abu Dhabi, and wounding dozens more.—
Caroline Linton,
CBS News,
1 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The concentration of power in one person, the undermining of elections, disregarding the rule of law, the weakening checks and balances, and replacing constitutional loyalty with personal loyalty.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Mar. 2026
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The arrogance seen in 2010 is now also on display in how Lawson-Remer is making the case for weakening term limits as part of broader changes that would give the board’s Democratic majority (and its union allies) even more clout.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Strikes have continued throughout the weekend, killing civilians, damaging property and bringing air and water traffic to a standstill.—
Frederik Pleitgen,
CNN Money,
1 Mar. 2026
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The death toll rose to 22 on Saturday from the crash of a military plane carrying 18 tons of new banknotes a day earlier near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles and scattering bills on the ground, a police commander said Saturday.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Disabling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disabling. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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