INCAPACITATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does incapacitate mean? 

• INCAPACITATE (verb)
  The verb INCAPACITATE has 2 senses:

1. make unable to perform a certain action

2. injure permanently

  Familiarity information: INCAPACITATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INCAPACITATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they incapacitate    ... he / she / it incapacitates   
Past simple: incapacitated   
Past participle: incapacitated   
-ing form: incapacitating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make unable to perform a certain action

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

disable; disenable; incapacitate

Context example:

disable this command on your computer

Hypernyms (to "incapacitate" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "incapacitate"):

lay up (disable or confine, as with an illness)

nobble (disable by drugging)

pinion (cut the wings off (of birds))

confine; constrain; hold; restrain (to close within bounds, or otherwise limit or deprive of free movement)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Injure permanently

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

disable; handicap; incapacitate; invalid

Context example:

He was disabled in a car accident

Hypernyms (to "incapacitate" is one way to...):

injure; wound (cause injuries or bodily harm to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "incapacitate"):

hock (disable by cutting the hock)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

 Context examples 

Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) Has he/she had any change in appetite, weight, or eating habits (count as NA if the patient is incapacitated and has to be fed)?

(NPI - Change in Appetite, Weight, or Eating Habits, NCI Thesaurus)

In severe cases, people become incapacitated.

(Friedreich's Ataxia, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)