incapable
adjective
in·ca·pa·ble
(ˌ)in-ˈkā-pə-bəl 
1
: lacking capacity, ability, or qualification for the purpose or end in view: such as
a
: not able or fit for the doing or performance : incompetent
b
: not being in a state or of a kind to admit : insusceptible
c
archaic
: not able to take in, hold, or keep
d
archaic
: not receptive
2
: lacking legal qualification or power (as by reason of mental incompetence) : disqualified
Synonyms
Examples of incapable in a Sentence
hired a supremely incapable assistant who only made a mess of things
Recent Examples on the Web
This isn’t to say that Leith and Hollywood are incapable of doing their job because of their age.
—
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 28 Nov. 2024
This rhetoric continues conservatives’ history of weaponizing research showing that trans people are more likely to be diagnosed as autistic than cis people in order to baselessly argue that trans youth — and autistic people — are incapable of making their own decisions about their healthcare care.
—Abby Monteil, Them, 26 Nov. 2024
Shostakovich is reduced to a hapless victim of circumstance, incapable of speaking in an independent voice.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024
Surrender, then, will come not when the opponent’s numbers are diminished and its armory empty but when the survivors’ shield of silicon is rendered incapable of saving its technological assets—and finally its human deputies.
—Henry A. Kissinger, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Incapable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incapable. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
incapable
adjective
in·ca·pa·ble
(ˈ)in-ˈkā-pə-bəl
: not able to do something
incapable of cleaning her room thoroughly
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