Meanings
present singular third person incapacitates · participle present incapacitating · participle past incapacitated · past incapacitated
- transitiveTo make someone or something incapable of doing something; to disable.
The police officer was incapacitated by a blow to the head.
Synonyms: prostrate
- transitivegovernmentTo imprison a potential offender and thereby prevent them from offending.
Wilson's principal motivation for situation-oriented policies was the desire to change the real world by proposing politically practicable policies. And his principle prescription was to incapacitate a larger number of habitual offenders.
2001, Bernard E. Harcourt, Illusion of OrderSynonyms: prostrate
- transitivelawTo make someone ineligible; to disqualify.
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo make someone or something incapable of doing something; to disable.
verbTo imprison a potential offender and thereby prevent them from offending.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Mid-17th century, from incapacity + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French incapaciter.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 令癱瘓 /令瘫痪
- 令癱瘓 /令瘫痪 (ling⁶ taan² wun⁶)to put out of action, to render ineffective
Czech zbavit svéprávnosti
- zbavit svéprávnostito deprive of one's legal capacity
Italian impossibilitare, inibire
- impossibilitareto put out of action, to render ineffective
- inibireto deprive of one's legal capacity
Māori whakakaurapa
- whakakaurapato put out of action, to render ineffective
Polish czynić niesprawnym, uczynić niesprawnym
- czynić niesprawnymto put out of action, to render ineffective
- uczynić niesprawnymto put out of action, to render ineffective
- ubezwłasnowolniaćto deprive of one's legal capacity
- ubezwłasnowolnićto deprive of one's legal capacity
Cite this entry
incapacitate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incapacitate
“incapacitate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incapacitate. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “incapacitate,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/incapacitate.
Source: incapacitate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.