incapacity

[ in-kuh-pas-i-tee ]

See synonyms for incapacity on Thesaurus.com

noun

lack of ability, qualification, or strength; incapability.
Law. lack of the legal power to act in a specified way or ways.

Origin of incapacity

From the Late Latin word incapācitās, dating back to 1605–15. See in-³, capacity

Words Nearby incapacity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use incapacity in a sentence

The creator of a living trust can name a successor trustee who will take over the management of the trust in the event of either death or incapacity.
Estate planning for the future of your home | Jeff Hammerberg | January 30, 2022 | Washington Blade
This incapacity to imagine the underside of technical achievements is not destiny.
Deepfakes could help us relive history—or rewrite it | Nir Eisikovits/The Conversation | November 8, 2021 | Popular-Science
Guardianship, which is often used when a person is designated by the parents to take care of their child in the event of death or incapacity, is not an ideal match for this case, according to Parker.
A woman agreed to have a baby for a Facebook friend through Messenger. Now, they’re locked in a custody war. | Jaclyn Peiser | September 23, 2021 | Washington Post
Will our incapacity to govern efficiently and effectively further weaken our image as a global leader?
Obama’s Nightmare: Reelected in 2012 but Republicans Take the Senate | Thomas E. Cronin | December 29, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
Cases linked to mental incapacity are the lone exception, judges have ruled.
The War's Quiet Scandal | ProPublica | February 25, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST

Part of this absence of empathy is an incapacity for self-examination.
Who Made Frank Rich God? | Lee Siegel | March 16, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
People will not fail to attribute it to the incapacity of the Ministers, and possibly to their malevolence.
The Story Of The Duchess Of Cicogne And Of Monsieur De Boulingrin | Anatole France
But his known incapacity held him down to a secondary place.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
Charges of incapacity, cruelty, brutal insolence, were hurled backward and forward.
The History of England from the Accession of James II. | Thomas Babington Macaulay
Doubt arises ordinarily from laziness, weakness, indifference, or incapacity.
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean Meslier
In none of their many sovereignties had the incapacity of the Bourbons been more completely demonstrated than in Spain.
The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte | William Milligan Sloane

British Dictionary definitions for incapacity

incapacity

/ (ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪtɪ) /

nounplural -ties

lack of power, strength, or capacity; inability
law
- legal disqualification or ineligibility
- a circumstance causing this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse