incapacitate

C2+ Topic:Law & Government

US /ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪˌteɪt/ UK /ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪˌteɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to deprive of strength, ability, or legal capacity

A single blow was enough to incapacitate the guard.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to deprive of strength,... disable cripple paralyze immobilize weaken disqualify

Opposites

enable empower strengthen

Word family

Derived forms incapacitationincapacitatedincapacitant

Related forms capacity incapacity capacitate

Etymology

From in- ('not') + capacitate, from Latin capacitas ('capacity'), from capax ('able to hold'), from capere ('to take, hold').

capacitas Latin capere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# incapacitate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪˌteɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪˌteɪt/

## Meanings
1. to deprive of strength, ability, or legal capacity

## Examples
- A single blow was enough to incapacitate the guard.

## Synonyms
- disable
- cripple
- paralyze
- immobilize
- weaken
- disqualify

## Antonyms
- enable
- empower
- strengthen

## Derived Forms
- incapacitation
- incapacitated
- incapacitant

## Related Forms
- capacity
- incapacity
- capacitate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: capacitas
- Root: capere

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + capacitate, from Latin capacitas ('capacity'), from capax ('able to hold'), from capere ('to take, hold').

## AI Etymology
Incapacitate comes from in- ('not') + capacitate, from Latin capacitas ('capacity'), from capax ('able to hold'), from capere ('to take, hold'). The etymological trail includes Latin capacitas and Latin capere. As a verb, incapacitate means to deprive of strength, ability, or legal capacity. The same family is visible in derived forms such as incapacitation, incapacitated, and incapacitant and related forms such as capacity, incapacity, and capacitate. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Law & Government
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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