Adjacent Words

Incapacitate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INCAPAC'ITATE, v.t. [in and capacitate.]
1. To deprive of capacity or natural power of learning, knowing, understanding or performing. Old age and infirmity often incapacitate men to exercise the office of a judge.
2. To render or make incapable; as, infancy incapacitates a child for learning algebra.
3. To disable; to weaken; to deprive of competent power or ability. This is an improper use of the word. The loss of an arm disables a soldier, but does not incapacitate him.
4. To render unfit; as, infancy incapacitates one for marriage.
5. To disqualify; to deprive of legal or constitutional requisites; as, conviction of a crime incapacitates one to be a witness.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: make unable to perform a certain action; "disable this command on your computer" [syn: disable, disenable, incapacitate] [ant: enable]
2: injure permanently; "He was disabled in a car accident" [syn: disable, invalid, incapacitate, handicap]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (-tated; -tating) Date: 1657 1. to make legally incapable or ineligible 2. to deprive of capacity or natural power ; disable • incapacitation noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. 1 render incapable or unfit. 2 disqualify. Derivatives: incapacitant n. incapacitation n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Incapacitate In`ca*pac"i*tate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Incapacitated; p. pr. & vb. n. Incapacitating.] [Pref. in- not + capacitate.] 1. To deprive of capacity or natural power; to disable; to render incapable or unfit; to disqualify; as, his age incapacitated him for war. 2. (Law) To deprive of legal or constitutional requisites, or of ability or competency for the performance of certain civil acts; to disqualify. It absolutely incapacitated them from holding rank, office, function, or property. --Milman.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(incapacitates, incapacitating, incapacitated) If something incapacitates you, it weakens you in some way, so that you cannot do certain things. (FORMAL) A serious fall incapacitated the 68-year-old congressman. VERB: V n • incapacitated He is incapacitated and can't work. ADJ: usu v-link ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Disable, make incapable. 2. Disqualify, unfit, make unfit.

Moby Thesaurus

afflict, bugger, castrate, cripple, de-energize, deactivate, debilitate, derange, devitalize, disable, disarm, disenable, disorder, drain, emasculate, enervate, enfeeble, exhaust, hamstring, hobble, hors de combat, hospitalize, immobilize, impair, inactivate, indispose, invalid, kibosh, lame, lay up, maim, prostrate, put, queer, queer the works, reduce, sabotage, sicken, spike, unfit, weaken, wing, wound, wreck