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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cripples
to cause severe or permanent injury to the stroke left her completely incapacitated

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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
  • Najmi’s dual role as a lawyer practicing before city judges and as chair of the screening committee creates at least the appearance of a conflict of interest that undermines the very purpose of the committee’s existence.
    — Christian Browne, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
  • Reducing legitimate scientific disagreement to accusations of prejudice undermines that effort.
    — Torie Bosch, STAT, 18 July 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • Likewise, a captain who temporarily disables a transmitter may escape detection if oversight depends solely on physical inspections.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 16 July 2026
  • Apple has a similar feature on the iPhone where pressing the side and volume buttons simultaneously disables Face ID.
    — Janhoi McGregor, Forbes.com, 27 June 2026
Definition of disables
Verb
  • 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
  • Who is responsible when a robot breaks something or injures someone?
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
Definition of injures
Verb
  • Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Mar. 2026
  • 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
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

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Cite this Entry

“Incapacitates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitates. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on incapacitates

Nglish: Translation of incapacitates for Spanish Speakers

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