incapacitates

verb

present tense third-person singular of incapacitate
1
as in paralyzes
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
2
as in cripples
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 incapacitates 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 Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself. — Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitates
  1. paralyzes
  2. cripples
  3. undermines
  4. disables
  5. injures
  6. wounds
  7. maims
Verb
  • Fear, like ignorance, shuts our eyes to and paralyzes our trust in God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and unfailing love for His children, whereas the understanding of God’s ever-present goodness removes the fear that generates suffering.
    — André Kisonga, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026
  • These opportunists drown out the core mission, creating a cacophony of competing voices that confuses donors, crowd the inboxes of CEOs and members of Congress with colliding petitions, and paralyzes meaningful action by draining critical funding and attention away from the truly effective groups.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Time, 28 June 2026
Definition of paralyzes
Verb
  • Federal illegality further cripples operations with banking and tax burdens.
    — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 20 June 2026
  • In the final version of the film, Furiosa captures Dementus, cripples him, brings him back to the Citadel.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
Definition of cripples
Verb
  • Also, and not to totally belabor the point, but limiting analysis of the NFL’s impact on the ad market to in-game revenue effectively undermines the second-order impact on non-NFL pricing.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Unethical conduct undermines the rule of law, risks national security, and sets a dangerous precedent for every level of government.
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • HyperX includes a dedicated Game Mode, toggled with Fn and F12, which disables the Windows key to prevent accidental interruptions during gameplay.
    — Sascha Brodsky, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Nitrous oxide irreversibly disables methionine synthase, the enzyme your body needs to build and maintain the myelin sheath insulating the nerves.
    — Jesse M. Pines, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of disables
Verb
  • The heist goes wrong when one sister injures her back and ends up trapped on the second floor, setting off an increasingly frantic bid to get out before the homeowner comes home.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Early on in the clip, Jake Johnson’s former tennis star Dusty Boyd trips over the net and injures his wrist in a bad way.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 June 2026
Definition of injures
Verb
  • The kitchen wounds him, heals him, and becomes his crucible of faith.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 29 July 2026
  • The Atlanta Games are later marred by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing that kills Alice Hawthorne, wounds 111 others.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026
Definition of wounds
Verb
  • The attack only maims Aegon, who is left bedridden and unable to walk on his own.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 20 June 2026
Definition of maims

Browse Nearby Words

incapacitated
incapacitates
incapacitating
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Incapacitates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitates. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on incapacitates

Nglish: Translation of incapacitates for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

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

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

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

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All