disability

American  

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

noun

plural

disabilities

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

Related Words

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.

Etymology

Origin of disability

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

Example Sentences

In more recent decades, especially in 2001 and 2011, the census has tracked the modernising economy: commuting patterns, marginal versus main work, education attendance and increasingly detailed disability and fertility data.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

In the Help Me Retire column Alessandra Malito answered this question to help a 66-year-old reader receiving Social Security disability payments understand how to maximize her retirement benefits.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026

Given my disability, what is the minimum amount of work required?

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

Sweet adds: "At Field Lane I have met the most amazing children who are developing empathy, understanding and acceptance - they are learning about autism and physical disability."

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

That made him wonder if the injury meant he'd collect some kind of disability payment from the school district.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Related Words

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