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 This is somewhat reassuring since FEMA now appears to be incapacitated. — Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Aug. 2026 Tasers are designed to incapacitate muscles through pulsed current generated between probes. — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2026 Conclusion The world’s deadliest snakes use different biological weapons to incapacitate their victims. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 6 Aug. 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 See All Example Sentences for incapacitate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitate

Verb

She is paralyzed from the waist down after a suicide attempt following killing her children.

— Carmel Wroth, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
Clancy, who was left paralyzed by a suicide attempt that followed the killings, was brought forward in her wheelchair to listen.

— Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of paralyze

Verb

In the air war, the Houthis have taken aim at Saudi Arabia's oil facilities near its border with Yemen, accusing the Saudis of arming Yemeni government forces as a way of undermining Yemen's sovereignty.

— Guy Davies, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026
Poor change management, configuration drift and unmanaged systems quietly undermine cybersecurity.

— Scott Alldridge, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of undermine

Verb

The pilots of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 were blamed for crashing into a seawall in 2013, sending their jet cartwheeling down a runway in San Francisco, killing three people and injuring 187 others.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026
The jet, traveling from San Juan, Puerto Rico, overshot the runway, killing five people and injuring another five.

— Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of injure

Verb

Men routinely fall off buildings, get electrocuted, crushed or maimed.

— Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, 11 Sep. 2026
Its entire loop revolved around strategic mechanical dismemberment, a concept perfected all the way back in Ninja Gaiden 2, where maiming enemies directly fed into brutal instant finishers.

— Gabriel Zamora, PC Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of maim

Verb

Three women and a man were wounded in a shooting early Sunday at Granite Regional Park in eastern Sacramento.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 6 Sep. 2026
Russian attacks across multiple Ukrainian regions killed one person and wounded at least 10 others overnight into Sunday, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said.

— Samya Kullab, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of wound

Verb

Before the war, Putin had spent decades disabling the channels of political opposition and of political action independent from the state.

— MICHAEL KIMMAGE, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2026
This has occurred as Ukrainian drone strikes have disabled specialized Russian processing units, while maritime chokepoints in the Middle East have left crucial crude supplies stranded.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of disable

Verb

In January 2025, an American Airlines regional jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport, killing all 67 people aboard the two aircraft.

— Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
This is, quite frankly, baloney — who’s to say the Manhunter didn’t kill and take the form of someone already living in the town?

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 7 Sep. 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 15 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of incapacitate

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

quorum

Popular in Grammar & Usage

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

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Popular

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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Games & Quizzes