INCAPACITATE Synonyms: 104 Similar and Opposite Words

incapacitate

verb

ˌin-kə-ˈpa-sə-ˌtāt

Definition of incapacitate

as in to paralyze

to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move the malfunctioning of a single component can incapacitate the engine

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to cripple

to cause severe or permanent injury to the stroke left her completely incapacitated

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 incapacitate The medical professional also checked the boxes saying Grayson would be incapacitated within six months and his condition was unlikely to improve. — Jerry Nowicki, CBS News, 31 July 2026 Grayson filed for release under the Joe Coleman Act, which applies to incarcerated people who are terminally ill or medically incapacitated. — Ava Kelley, NBC news, 31 July 2026 Furthermore, the Iranians are far from disabled, disarmed and incapacitated. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 26 July 2026 According to the complaint, Willis has been left completely incapacitated since a brief stint at Summit Malibu in early 2024, unable to move or communicate beyond occasionally opening her eyes and sometimes grunting. — Gustavo Turner, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for incapacitate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitate

Verb

Clancy jumped out of a window after strangling the children to death and was paralyzed in the fall.

— Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2026
Clancy is now partially paralyzed due to her suicide attempt and is being held at Tewksbury hospital.

— Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of paralyze

Verb

Attached to his letter is a fact sheet with evidence that Edwards’s claims undermine the committee’s.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 27 Aug. 2026
For Salesforce, investors have worried that increasingly capable AI models could allow businesses to accomplish more with fewer traditional software subscriptions, undermining the industry's pricing model.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of undermine

Verb

Scott Quigley, then embedded with the Middlesex DA’s office, crashed his cruiser into a wheelchair van in December 2023, injuring a man inside who died at the hospital a month later.

— Boston Herald editorial staff, Boston Herald, 25 Aug. 2026
During a 2021 mass shooting at a school in Oxford, Michigan, police responded within minutes of the emergency calls and disarmed a 15-year-old boy in a shooting that killed four students and injured seven others.

— Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of injure

Verb

Demining groups say that without international support, Southeast Asia’s unfinished work clearing land mines and unexploded bombs will continue to endanger communities, maiming and killing people and slowing development for years to come.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026
His act made use of racial and ethnic slurs, under the philosophy that taboo words lost their maiming edge with repetition.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of maim

Verb

Consider each target wounded by crushing knockdowns and then killed by piggy-backers, irrespective of the quality of the quarter.

— Jim Cramer, CNBC, 30 Aug. 2026
Aargau Cantonal Police said one person was killed and five others were wounded after shots were fired at the event in the town of Aarau, a scenic area known for its lush valleys, medieval castles and thermal springs.

— Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of wound

Verb

The portable machine uses pulses of full-spectrum ultraviolet light to kill infectious germs inside hospital rooms.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
Clancy is a Massachusetts woman who has been on trial for killing her three children and attempting to take her own life in 2023.

— Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of kill

Browse Nearby Words

incapably

incapacitate

incapacitated

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“Incapacitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitate. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of incapacitate

verb

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