disable
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make unable or unfit; weaken or destroy the capability of; incapacitate.
The detective successfully disabled the bomb.
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to impair or injure (a person or animal) physically or mentally.
The accident disabled him for life.
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to make legally incapable; disqualify.
Minors are legally disabled from entering into a contract.
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Digital Technology. to make (a device, system, or feature) unable to function; turn off.
Some of the car’s advanced safety features can be disabled.
verb
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to make ineffective, unfit, or incapable, as by crippling
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to make or pronounce legally incapable
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to switch off (an electronic device)
Other Word Forms
- disablement noun
- disabler noun
Etymology
Origin of disable
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.
My dad is 85 and has his mind, but he’s physically disabled and not able to keep his house up.
From MarketWatch
Communications watchdog Ofcom fined the telecoms giant after ruling it failed to protect vulnerable users of the devices, typically elderly and disabled people, during the transition from analogue to digital.
From BBC
Her husband is a fully disabled Navy veteran dependent on benefits from Veterans Affairs.
From Salon
I don’t need the money, as I have my pension and I am currently 90% disabled and comfortable.
From MarketWatch
Young disabled people have reacted angrily to the first significant changes to the Motability scheme made since it was launched nearly 50 years ago.
From BBC
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.
