1
as in paralyzing
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 crippling
to cause severe or permanent injury to
the stroke left her completely incapacitated
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of incapacitating
While the name suggests something far more trivial, significant damage to the ligaments of the metatarsophalangeal joint can be incapacitating.
—
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
This is not some bloodthirsty pirate contempt with conquering a pleasure planet like everyone thought, but a calculative master manipulator and tactician who knew the value of Kalgan and used it to acquire a larger prize — incapacitating the Empire’s attack forces.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2025
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 15 Sep. 2025
To write one’s way out of the incapacitating dependence of daughterhood into autonomy means shedding the unquestioning fidelity of a child.
—Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
This is not some bloodthirsty pirate contempt with conquering a pleasure planet like everyone thought, but a calculative master manipulator and tactician who knew the value of Kalgan and used it to acquire a larger prize — incapacitating the Empire’s attack forces.
—Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 9 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacitating
Verb
-
Discipline without optimism is paralyzing.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Shortly after Henry’s death, Augusta suffered two paralyzing strokes, intensifying her and Ed’s isolated, co-dependent relationship before her death in 1945.—
Andrew McGowan,
Variety,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Perreira agrees that the financial imbalance in the game is crippling West Indies.—
Paul Newman,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Related Stories Pogachefsky is now suing 42West and his former employees, accusing them of crippling his company and scuttling his talks to sell the firm.—
Gene Maddaus,
Variety,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Given the biological similarities between humans and naked mole-rats, the scientists believe so, equipping us with the ability to protect our genome from damage, disabling our cGAS from inhibiting the repair process.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
12 Oct. 2025
-
Because fiber-optic drones are harder to produce, they are typically reserved for high-value strikes or for disabling jamming systems to clear the way for cheaper FPVs.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Twelve years after the Kewaunee Power Station shuttered, wounding the local economy, owner EnergySolutions is seeking government approval to build a new nuclear plant at the site — and is trying to buy hundreds of acres of farmland around it.—
Miranda Dunlap,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
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Days after a gunman drove a truck into a Grand Blanc Township church and opened fire on worshippers, killing four people and wounding eight, hundreds gathered in Flint for a community safety briefing focused on crisis response and prevention in houses of worship.—
Nour Rahal,
Freep.com,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The military junta in Myanmar dropped at least one bomb from a paraglider, killing at least 18 people and injuring another 45, some of them seriously, at a vigil protesting military rule, a human rights watchdog and the exiled former government said.—
Rajeev Tyagi,
ABC News,
8 Oct. 2025
-
Hill is out for the season after injuring ligaments in his knee in the Dolphins’ Week 4 game against the New York Jets.—
Rebecca Tauber,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incapacitating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacitating. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
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