disability

American  

[dis-uh-bil-i-tee] / ˌdɪs əˈbɪl ɪ ti /

noun

• disabilities
  plural

1. lack of adequate power, strength, or physical or mental ability; incapacity.

   Synonyms:

   deficit, impairment

   Antonyms:

   capacity, ability

2. a physical or mental impairment, especially one that hinders or prevents a person from performing tasks of daily living, carrying out work or household responsibilities, or engaging in leisure and social activities.

3. anything that disables or puts one at a disadvantage.

   His mere six-foot height will be a disability in professional basketball.

4. the state or condition of being disabled.

5. legal incapacity; legal disqualification.

6. disability insurance.

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disability British  

/ ˌdɪsəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. the condition of being unable to perform a task or function because of a physical or mental impairment

2. something that disables; handicap

3. lack of necessary intelligence, strength, etc

4. an incapacity in the eyes of the law to enter into certain transactions

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Sensitive Note

Disability is a general term for one or more functional limitations in carrying out major life activities. A disability may be physical, mental, or sensory. The language used to describe disabilities and people with disabilities has changed over time, and older words and phrases like cripple, handicapped, or special needs are no longer recommended and often cause offense. In many cases there is no reason to mention someone’s disability at all; however, when you do introduce disability as a part of an individual’s whole self, it is usually preferable to be specific: “a woman with cerebral palsy” rather than generically “a woman with a disability.” Sometimes the important information is a person’s membership in the disability community, in which case the umbrella term disability is appropriate: “employer accommodation for an employee with a disability.” Some people, especially in the disability rights community, prefer to write disability as dis/ability, (dis)ability, or disAbility in an effort to emphasize ability and minimize ableism. In the same spirit, some also use the words able and ability to mean disabled or disability, as in: “Able team members are asked to share accessibility concerns with their team leader” or “The city council will defer to the recommendations of the ability committee.” This use of able and ability is criticized by some for being unclear or overly euphemistic and is not preferred over the straightforward terms disabled and disability.

Usage

Many deaf and hard of hearing people object to the use of the phrase hearing disability

Synonym Usage

Disability, inability imply a lack of power or ability. A disability is a functional limitation, physical or other: excused because of a physical disability; a temporary disability. Inability is a lack of ability, usually because of an inherent lack of talent, power, etc.: inability to talk; inability to do well in higher mathematics.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• disabilities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of disability

First recorded in 1570–80; dis- ¹ + ability

Explanation

A disability is a physical or mental condition that can make it more difficult or impossible for someone to complete some task or participate in some activity. Break down this word and you get dis and ability — literally, "the opposite of ability." Many people with disabilities, however, learn to adapt to and overcome the challenges a disability can present. A person who is blind has a physical disability, while a person with dyslexia has a learning disability. This word can also be used figuratively. You might consider your fear of heights and poor sense of balance to be disabilities when trying to scale a rock-climbing wall.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

disability disabilities

Seo, who has an intellectual disability, struggles to form long sentences and can only communicate through brief words and gestures.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

This debate turns on several questions, including what constitutes a disability under ADA, what responsibilities businesses should shoulder and how the U.S. regulates fragrances.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

She would work with the district to expand affordable housing, work-study opportunities and food aid and seek to remove language and disability barriers to make college more accessible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

He also wants an order requiring the museum to change its policies and give relevant staff disability awareness training.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

My dad, who’d recently traded in his car for a specialized van to accommodate his disability, still made a point of showing up in his cousins’ doorways as often as possible for in-person visits.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Another area of rising costs is students with disabilities.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

There are, of course, exemptions for people who are pregnant, have disabilities or are caring for young children.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026

Economist Luke Sibieta said asking schools to offer more vocational routes would be a "big change" on top of the significant reforms to support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

These disabilities can occur because a stroke deprives parts of the brain of oxygen or causes bleeding that destroys brain cells.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

The testimony the experts would provide would also be very direct in characterizing his disabilities and illness.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• cognitive impairment
• debilitation
• impairment
• incapacitation
• intellectual disability
• limitation
• restriction