inability

[in-uh-bil-i-tee]

noun

1. lack of ability; lack of power, capacity, or means.

   his inability to make decisions.

   Synonyms: incompetence, impotence, incapacity, incapability

inability

/ ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪtɪ /

noun

1. lack of ability or means; incapacity

Word History and Origins

Origin of inability¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English inabilite, from Medieval Latin inhabilitās; equivalent to in- ³ + ability

Synonym Study

See disability.

Example Sentences

Elsewhere, the celebrities' continued inability to pick out a Traitor was the other big talking point of the night.

Read more on BBC

The inability of independent journalists to travel freely is often cited as a key reason the war over facts in Gaza has been nearly as vicious as the fighting itself.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Constant surveillance, an inability to make decisions without the permission of a husband and even being stigmatized for smoking are among the tensions depicted in “The Circle.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

For officials of the old guard, their inability to return a single young citizen kidnapped while chasing opportunities abroad he couldn’t find at home would become a sore point and symbol of an elite’s failures.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It’s the crazy wall TV trope realized as a situational comedy, originating from a single pinpoint of Ron’s inability to let go of the smallest slights.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• failure 
• impotence 
• incompetence 
• inefficiency 
• ineptitude 
• lack 
• shortcoming 
• weakness