as in inability
the lack of sufficient ability, power, or means
her entrenched incapacity for decision-making doesn't make her a very good boss
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Recent Examples of incapacity
The conjunction of crushing needs and the state's incapacity created fertile ground for NGOs: even before the quake, there were around 10,000 of them in the country.
—
Paul Collier, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2011
But that has historically been interpreted as misconduct or incapacity, not policy disagreements.
—Nik Popli, Time, 17 Apr. 2025
Vargas Llosa, who died in Lima this past weekend at the age of 89, nurtured a lifelong obsession with his native Peru: its corrupt political ecosystem, its inequality, its incapacity to make good on its promise.
—Ilan Stavans, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
But is incapacity a good enough reason to take over Libya’s case against al-Islam?
—Timothy William Waters, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2013
See All Example Sentences for incapacity
Paul Collier, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2011
But that has historically been interpreted as misconduct or incapacity, not policy disagreements.
—Nik Popli, Time, 17 Apr. 2025
Vargas Llosa, who died in Lima this past weekend at the age of 89, nurtured a lifelong obsession with his native Peru: its corrupt political ecosystem, its inequality, its incapacity to make good on its promise.
—Ilan Stavans, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025
But is incapacity a good enough reason to take over Libya’s case against al-Islam?
—Timothy William Waters, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2013
See All Example Sentences for incapacity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incapacity
inability
Noun
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Plenty of art is a metaphor for our inability to connect with one another.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
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Their bites attack the nervous system, possibly leading to seizures, the inability to walk or the inability to breathe due to respiratory paralysis or extreme swelling in the throat, Willey warned.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Incapacity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incapacity. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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