Standard Lemma guide

incapacity

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪti/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N K AH0 P AE1 S AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The lack of a capacity; an inability.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Legal disqualification.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

lack of physical or natural qualifications

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: capacity

Broader terms: incapability, incapableness

4

noun

Meaning 4

lack of intellectual power

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: capacity

Broader terms: inability

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in-bor. Middle English in- English in- substratebor.? Proto-Indo-European *kap- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *kapyéti Proto-Italic *kapjō Old Latin kapiō Latin capiō Proto-Indo-European *-eh2-k-s Proto-Italic *-āks Latin -āx Latin capāx Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin capācitāsder. Old French capacitebor. Middle English capacite English capacity English incapacity From in- (“negative”) + capacity.

Across languages

Translations

30 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: некадърност (nekadǎrnost) — lack of a capacity
  • Bulgarian: неспособност (nesposobnost) — lack of a capacity
  • Catalan: incapacitat — lack of a capacity
  • Dutch: onvermogen — lack of a capacity
  • French: incapacité — lack of a capacity
  • Galician: incapacidade — lack of a capacity
  • German: Unfähigkeit — lack of a capacity
  • Gothic: 𐌿𐌽𐌼𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (unmahts) — lack of a capacity
  • Hebrew: נבצרות (nivtsarut) — lack of a capacity
  • Hindi: असमर्थता (asmarthatā) — lack of a capacity
  • Hindi: अक्षमता (akṣamtā) — lack of a capacity
  • Irish: neamhábaltacht — lack of a capacity
  • Irish: neamhinneamh — lack of a capacity
  • Irish: éagumas — lack of a capacity
  • Irish: míchumas — lack of a capacity
  • Irish: neamhacmhainn — lack of a capacity
  • Italian: incapacità — lack of a capacity
  • Manx: neuablid — lack of a capacity
  • Manx: anlheiltys — lack of a capacity
  • Polish: niezdolność — lack of a capacity
  • Polish: nieudolność — lack of a capacity
  • Polish: niezdatność — lack of a capacity
  • Polish: nieumiejętność — lack of a capacity
  • Portuguese: incapacidade — lack of a capacity
  • Spanish: incapacidad — lack of a capacity
  • Bulgarian: неправоспособност (nepravosposobnost) — legal disqualification
  • Hindi: अपात्रता (apātratā) — legal disqualification
  • Irish: éagumas — legal disqualification
  • Polish: brak zdolności prawnej — legal disqualification
  • Russian: неправомо́чность (nepravomóčnostʹ) — legal disqualification