incapable
English
Etymology
Category:English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European#INCAPABLECategory:English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *keh₂p-#INCAPABLEBorrowed from Middle FrenchCategory:English terms borrowed from Middle French#INCAPABLECategory:English terms derived from Middle French#INCAPABLE incapable, equivalent to in- + capableCategory:English terms prefixed with in- (inverse)#CAPABLE.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪnˈkeɪpəbl̩/, /ɪŋˈkeɪpəbl̩/Category:English 4-syllable words#INCAPABLECategory:English 4-syllable words#INCAPABLECategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#INCAPABLE
Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#INCAPABLEAudio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: in‧ca‧pable
Adjective
incapable (comparative more incapable, superlative most incapable)Category:English lemmas#INCAPABLECategory:English adjectives#INCAPABLECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with entries#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with 2 entries#INCAPABLE
- Not capable (of doing something); unable.
- A pint glass is incapable of holding more than a pint of liquid.Category:English terms with usage examples#INCAPABLE
- I consider him incapable of dishonesty.Category:English terms with usage examples#INCAPABLE
- 1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 254:
- 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.Category:English terms with quotations#INCAPABLE
- 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 July 2020:
- According to the prevailing Danish rationale, Greenlanders were naïve and childlike, in need of protection and incapable of governing themselves.Category:English terms with quotations#INCAPABLE
- Not in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit.
- incapable of pain, or pleasure; incapable of stain or injuryCategory:English terms with collocations#INCAPABLE
Synonyms
Antonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
incapable (plural incapables)Category:English lemmas#INCAPABLECategory:English nouns#INCAPABLECategory:English countable nouns#INCAPABLECategory:English entries with incorrect language header#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with entries#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with 2 entries#INCAPABLE
- (datedCategory:English dated terms#INCAPABLE) One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton.
French
Etymology
From LatinCategory:French terms derived from Latin#INCAPABLE incapābilis.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɛ̃.ka.pabl/Category:French 3-syllable words#INCAPABLECategory:French terms with IPA pronunciation#INCAPABLE
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#INCAPABLEAudio (France (Toulouse)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#INCAPABLEAudio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Category:French terms with audio pronunciation#INCAPABLEAudio (France (Vosges)): (file)
Adjective
incapable (plural incapables)Category:French lemmas#INCAPABLECategory:French adjectives#INCAPABLECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with entries#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with 2 entries#INCAPABLE
Noun
incapable m (plural incapables, feminine incapable)Category:French lemmas#INCAPABLECategory:French nouns#INCAPABLECategory:French countable nouns#INCAPABLECategory:French entries with incorrect language header#INCAPABLECategory:French masculine nouns#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with entries#INCAPABLECategory:Pages with 2 entries#INCAPABLE
- incompetent (person)
Further reading
- “incapable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012