incapable
nounEtymology Borrowed from Middle French incapable, equivalent to in- + capable.
1
Dated One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton.
incapable
adj/ɪnˈkeɪpəbl̩/ · /ɪŋˈkeɪpəbl̩/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French incapable, equivalent to in- + capable.
1
Not capable (of doing something); unable.
- A pint glass is incapable of holding more than a pint of liquid.
- I consider him incapable of dishonesty.
2 more examples
- The British people seem incapable of avoiding the habit of leaving litter wherever they go, and the railways certainly seem to receive their fair share of it, in carriages and on stations.1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 254:
- According to the prevailing Danish rationale, Greenlanders were naïve and childlike, in need of protection and incapable of governing themselves.2019 August 22, Matthew H. Birkhold, “A Brief History of the Indignities Heaped Upon Greenland”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2020:
2
Not in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit.
- incapable of pain, or pleasure; incapable of stain or injury
- Synonyms
- unable, refusing
- Antonyms
- capable
- Derived terms
- incapability, incapableness, incapably
- Related terms
- incapacitate, incapacitation