as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
the apparent incapability of the president's staff to deal with the crisis
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
hired a supremely incapable assistant who only made a mess of things
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of incapability
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2026
David Sims, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026
Non-falsifiable and untestable hypotheses cannot be checked out, and hence those ideas are incapable of disproof.
—Big Think, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incapability
Noun
Trump’s command of Congress owes to the incapability of many politicians to see beyond the next election.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2026
Adjective
That’s not to say Duvall was incapable of going big.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 16 Feb. 2026
Non-falsifiable and untestable hypotheses cannot be checked out, and hence those ideas are incapable of disproof.
—Big Think, 10 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for incapability
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapability
Noun
-
But its lofty position is threatened by, among other things, America’s own chronic inability to keep a balanced budget, and the administration’s trade policy is part of what’s holding it back from doing so.—
Tristan Bove,
Fortune,
26 Feb. 2026
-
Rust, more than most of the Penguins, has taken the franchise’s recent inability to reach the postseason especially hard in recent years.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Abbott has blasted Miller as unfit for office.—
Gromer Jeffers Jr,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Feb. 2026
-
In the latest directives, military separation boards have been ordered to find unfit and separate any transgender servicemember with a current or past documentation of gender dysphoria.—
Lauren Hodges,
NPR,
21 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
But, at some point this season, the Dodgers will lose a handful of games in a row, or lose six out of seven, and might look incompetent doing it.—
Assistant Sports Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The issue was not that Butler was incompetent in his job; quite the opposite.—
Missy Ryan,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
-
The venerable American clan at the center of the narrator’s reminiscences are wholly unfitted to the modern world and no longer endowed with the fortune that one of them brought home long ago on clipper ships.—
Daniel Akst,
WSJ,
2 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
The more senior players should, in theory, be setting standards and taking their younger team-mates along with them, but appear unable to do either.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
-
The upshot is that Chinese Republicans, which wants to be a show with a pair of sturdily wrought protagonists, ends up waffling between the two, apparently unable to decide which should occupy the center and in neither case provided with enough dimension to fill it.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incapability.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapability. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
