incapacity
Americannoun
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lack of ability, qualification, or strength; incapability.
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Law. lack of the legal power to act in a specified way or ways.
noun
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lack of power, strength, or capacity; inability
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law
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legal disqualification or ineligibility
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a circumstance causing this
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Etymology
Origin of incapacity
From the Late Latin word incapācitās, dating back to 1605–15. See in- 3, capacity
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.
But the line between incapacity and hardship is not always clear, especially when poverty and homelessness are involved.
From Slate ● Mar. 12, 2026
She suffered difficult pregnancies, physical illness and depression, often feeling exhausted to the point of incapacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
An important caveat: delusions six years ago and intermittent bouts of paranoia do not automatically indicate legal incapacity.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 30, 2025
It is Brett and Jake’s dilemma distilled, her hunger for love, his incapacity, their knowing futility.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
This incapacity fretted him badly and he would sometimes take it out on Rab...
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
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.
