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
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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
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Recent Examples of incapacitates
Lorenzo confronts and incapacitates Pepe, Sonia’s main ally, before facing Sonia herself.
—
Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 24 Sep. 2025
Isabella Wandermurem, Time, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitates
Verb
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Monster blizzard paralyzes Northeast with extreme snow, soaring power outages.—
,
FOXNews.com,
23 Feb. 2026
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For example, the curare plant poisons used by South and Central American hunters paralyzes the respiratory system.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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These pressures could produce a tsunami that fractures the state’s fiscal foundation, self-inflicts a crisis ultimately demanding drastic cuts, and cripples its competitiveness.—
Andrew Rein,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
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Scarface and friends attack the lab, and break out the kryptonite that cripples El and Kali.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
31 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Themes of self-sacrifice dance around the script, but for a film that deals with such dark ideas as isolation and death in space, the film undermines its own pathos at every opportunity.—
Katie Walsh,
Boston Herald,
19 Mar. 2026
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But once again, The Saviors undermines its own relevance by handling its characters like props being used to make a point, rather than people with their own complex motivations or contradictions.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some even have an immobilizer that disables the ignition if thieves have a key.—
Jeff Wagner,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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For more information on why The Athletic occasionally disables comments on stories, please click here.—
James McNicholas,
New York Times,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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When Don injures his hand, Blue (Hunter McVey) is forced to step into the competition for him.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
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Bystander videos, like the ones taken of Pretti, have played a key role for decades in informing the public when law enforcement kills or injures people.—
Ava Berger,
NPR,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
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Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incapacitates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitates. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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