inability
Americannoun
-
inabilities
plural
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
Dealing with Dragons
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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:
Mr. Statham, a not infrequently delightful actor whose main weakness is an inability to say no to mediocre projects, undertakes the usual heroic killing spree in “Mutiny,” a brief, reasonably compelling but shamelessly workmanlike feature.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Finally, a catastrophic medical bill isn’t caused by a catastrophic event alone, but by high cost-sharing and, at an extremely vulnerable time, an inability to pay.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Abu Ridi voiced frustration at the Israeli military's inability to remove a handful of settlers from the site and called for more action to resolve the situation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Carmen Schober, the profile’s author, ignored the way members of Schmidt’s online forum, Skinni Société, commiserated about their hair loss and inability to stand without getting dizzy.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
There were any number of reasons for this, but primary among them was his complete inability to think about anything before he did it.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
But the frustration is that Australia, at times, have not outplayed England - instead, they have been gifted opportunities to win by England's inabilities to do the basics, like catching the ball.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2025
But the rollout of aid has been slow, partly reflecting the Haitian government’s own inabilities to oversee and coordinate it, an echo of the problems following the 2010 quake.
From New York Times ● Aug. 16, 2021
Hewitt’s own inabilities aside, the actress can at least play the part.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2018
But these inabilities do not exceed the corporeal: physical growth is not a metaphor for emotional growth.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 31, 2018
Her limited knowledge of saeter life was fast being augmented under her cousin's supervision, notwithstanding Hansine's remarks about her inabilities.
From Added Upon A Story by Nephi Anderson
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.
