incapacitate

English

Etymology

Mid-17th century, from incapacity +‎ -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare French incapaciter.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɪn.kəˈpæ.sɪ.teɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Verb

incapacitate (third-person singular simple present incapacitates, present participle incapacitating, simple past and past participle incapacitated) (transitive)

1. To make someone or something incapable of doing something; to disable.

   The police officer was incapacitated by a blow to the head.

   1. (law enforcement) To imprison a potential offender and thereby prevent them from offending.
      • 2001, Bernard E. Harcourt, Illusion of Order:

        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.

2. (law) To make someone ineligible; to disqualify.

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:disable

Derived terms

• incapacitated
• incapacitating
• incapacitation

Translations

to put out of action, to render ineffective

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 令癱瘓 / 令瘫痪 (ling⁶ taan² wun⁶)

• Italian: impossibilitare (it)
• Maori: whakakaurapa
• Serbo-Croatian: онеспособити

to deprive of one's legal capacity

• Czech: zbavit svéprávnosti pf
• Italian: inibire (it)
• Polish: ubezwłasnowalniać impf, ubezwłasnowolnić pf

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French incapacité. Equivalent to in- +‎ capacitate.

Noun

incapacitate f (uncountable)

1. incapacity

Declension

Declension of incapacitate

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	incapacitate	incapacitatea
genitive-dative	incapacități	incapacității
vocative	incapacitate, incapacitateo

Spanish

Verb

incapacitate

1. second-person singular voseo imperative of incapacitar combined with te