inability
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See disability.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of inability
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English inabilite, from Medieval Latin inhabilitās; equivalent to in- 3 + ability
Explanation
An inability refers to lacking the capacity to do something. A deaf person has an inability to hear. If you know that abilities are things people can do — like the ability of a basketball player to dunk the ball — then you might already have figured out that an inability is something a person cannot do. Most people have an inability to dunk a basketball. People who eat too much have an inability to resist food. Often, this word refers to having mental limitations: an inability to think or figure something out. We all have different abilities and inabilities.
Vocabulary lists containing inability
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.
She, too, had a back injury and the inability to bowl allowed more time to work on her batting through the winter.
From BBC • Jun. 20, 2026
“I think the inability to seek federal habeas relief would also lead to more people simply giving up on viable claims for immigration relief because they can’t stand to be in detention any longer.”
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026
For generations, scientists have viewed the inability to regrow lost body parts as one of the fundamental limitations of humans and other mammals.
From Science Daily • Jun. 17, 2026
Other particularly vulnerable countries include 39 island states that face challenges such as limited freshwater, import dependence, and inability to easily shelter elsewhere after a disaster such as a hurricane.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
But the memories were so raw and so painful that my friends’ inability to find words to say after I’d finished only pushed me deeper into the sadness of what had happened.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
