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

Relevance

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 According to the law enforcement investigation, Garcia activated her Taser seven times in a row in about a minute, with the State Patrol concluding that three to four of those activations occurred after Tomlinson was already incapacitated by the initial Taser deployments. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 19 June 2026 The lieutenant governor is first in line for succession if a governor is incapacitated. — Ben Paviour, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026 For example, if mom's alive but incapacitated, the heir legally owns nothing and has zero rights to manage the house. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 3 June 2026 The Martian tells the story of astronaut Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on Mars after a dust storm incapacitates him. — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 28 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for incapacitate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitate

Verb

Lindsay Clancy, who was paralyzed by the injuries from her suicide attempt, was charged with three counts of murder and strangulation in her children’s deaths.

— Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
In fact, if the knife had landed a centimeter to the left, she would have been paralyzed.

— Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 17 July 2026

Definition of paralyze

Verb

Russia has been doing this since the start of the war, terrorizing Ukrainian cities with aerial assaults that have killed thousands of civilians and crippled much of the country’s energy grid for months on end.

— Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 15 July 2026
Washington denounces Cuba’s overseas medical missions as exploitative and presses allies to drop them, but Calabria’s governor says losing the doctors would cripple care and vows to keep them.

— Paolo Santalucia, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2026

Definition of cripple

Verb

Opponents, however, argue the legislation could undermine California’s leadership in the technology industry.

— Naomi Taxay, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
South Africa closed its two major refineries in 2022 after new fuel regulations undermined their commercial logic.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of undermine

Verb

Utah Jazz guard Trey Alexander was taken from the court on stretcher Monday night after appearing to injure his side on a drive to the basket in an NBA Summer League game against the Chicago Bulls.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
With Isak returning late from the World Cup and Hugo Ekitike injured, Danns has the ideal opportunity to put himself in Iraola’s thoughts.

— Andy Jones, New York Times, 14 July 2026

Definition of injure

Verb

The attack only maims Aegon, who is left bedridden and unable to walk on his own.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 June 2026
Towards the end of the season, Chris relapses and starts using again, leading to a car crash that leaves him maimed, giving Tony no other option but to whack his underling.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026

Definition of maim

Verb

Four Kuwaiti service members were wounded by an Iranian attack on a Kuwaiti naval vessel, the country’s Defense Ministry said.

— Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 19 July 2026
Morgan was fatally wounded, and despite officers and emergency medical personnel attempting life-saving measures, Morgan was pronounced dead at the scene.

— Martha Ross, Mercury News, 19 July 2026

Definition of wound

Verb

Other safeguards include disabling Cisco Smart Install on all devices, using strong passwords, updating firmware regularly, and avoiding the use of other networking protocols.

— Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
However, that technology, which can not only locate drones but also disable them electronically, is continuing to evolve, said Brubaker, who is monitoring developments closely.

— Sydney Brammer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2026

Definition of disable

Verb

During the first four months of 2026 alone, drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians and accounted for more than 80% of civilian deaths recorded by the UN.

— Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
The fire killed 168 people, most likely because of unscrupulous contractors who used shoddy materials.

— New York Times, New York Times, 20 July 2026

Definition of kill

Browse Nearby Words

incapably

incapacitate

incapacitated

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Incapacitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitate. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of incapacitate

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on incapacitate

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

dog days

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

Popular in Wordplay

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Games & Quizzes