incapacitate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
incapacitates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
incapacitated,
past participle, past
-
incapacitating
present participle
verb
-
to deprive of power, strength, or capacity; disable
-
to deprive of legal capacity or eligibility
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
incapacitatesimple
-
incapacitatessimple
-
have incapacitatedperfect
-
has incapacitatedperfect
-
am incapacitatingprogressive
-
are incapacitatingprogressive
-
is incapacitatingprogressive
-
have been incapacitatingperfect progressive
-
has been incapacitatingperfect progressive
Past
-
incapacitatedsimple
-
had incapacitatedperfect
-
was incapacitatingprogressive
-
were incapacitatingprogressive
-
had been incapacitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incapacitate
First recorded in 1650–60; incapacit(y) + -ate 1
Explanation
If you are incapacitated, you can’t do what you normally do, what you’re being asked to do — or perhaps, much of anything. To incapacitate someone is to cause him or her to be unable to function normally, like a bad cold that incapacitates you. The verb incapacitate is related to the word capacity. Capacity comes from the Latin word capacitas, meaning “that can contain,” or how much something — brain, bucket or otherwise — can hold. The prefix in- reverses the meaning and when the suffix -ate is added, incapacitate means someone has been made unable to “contain” much — like attention, effort, or energy.
Vocabulary lists containing incapacitate
Uglies
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Children of Blood and Bone
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Artemis Fowl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Viruses that are extremely lethal often tend to self-contain because they quickly kill or incapacitate their hosts,” said James, who now works with Australia’s Southern Cross University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Electroshock weapons are designed to temporarily incapacitate suspects with a shock before police detain them.
From Barron's ● Feb. 19, 2026
Department officials have said repeatedly that, despite increased crisis intervention training and new “less-lethal” weapons designed to incapacitate rather than kill, officers are not always equipped to handle most mental health calls.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
The second study found racial disparities in injuries that occurred when Tasers and similar weapons were used by police to incapacitate people.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 5, 2024
If that black smoke could incapacitate Leo so quickly, what chance did she have?
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
You know, that thing that occasionally incapacitates him with guilt.
From Salon ● May 15, 2023
“I said to Ginzburg, ‘Why don’t we ask a few psychiatrists whether a nervous breakdown incapacitates someone for public office?’”
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Unless boxers are allowed to fight until one physically incapacitates the other — which is the way they actually competed at the ancient Olympic Games in 688 B.C. — decisions are an unfortunate necessity.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 1, 2021
“Most experts agree that if a GMD or EMP incapacitates an electrical grid, the grid will likely remain in a failed state from weeks to months,” the report said.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 5, 2018
It is said that he does all the necessary swearing in the 1st corps d'armée, which General Polk's clerical character incapacitates him from performing.
From Three Months in the Southern States, April-June 1863 by Arthur James Lyon Fremantle
In the event that the president dies or is incapacitated, Vice-President JD Vance would take power, followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
They must have hoped the photos would dispel conspiracy theories that he’s dead, or at least incapacitated.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
She was declared legally incapacitated in March 2023, according to The Athletic, and continues to undergo rehabilitation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
It defines a fully disabled veteran as one who is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of at least two limbs, or is otherwise incapacitated due to an injury or disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
Dedication Day was only a month away, and Harry Codman was again ill, incapacitated by the same stomach problem that had struck him during the summer.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The Timms report finds that there’s been a surge in Brits under age 40 collecting benefits for incapacitating ADHD, autism, anxiety or depression.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
CS spray is a man-made incapacitating gas - exposure to it causes a burning sensation in the eyes and watering.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026
The findings show the spike design to be extremely effective at damaging the virus' external structure and piercing its membranes, incapacitating 96% of viruses that came into contact with the surface within six hours.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024
"It looks like a focal neurologic event. That doesn't mean it's incapacitating, it doesn't mean he can't serve, but it means that somebody ought to wake up and say, 'Wow! This looks like a seizure.'"
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2023
This represents the kinds of things that must be done after the fact, in efforts to compensate for the incapacitating effects of certain diseases whose course one is unable to do very much about.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
