inability - Definitions from Dictionary.com

5 results for: inability

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

in·a·bil·i·ty

Audio Help [in-uh-bil-i-tee] Pronunciation Key

–noun

lack of ability; lack of power, capacity, or means: his inability to make decisions.

[Origin: 1400–50; late ME inabilite < ML inhabilitās. See in-³, ability

]

—Synonyms incapability, incapacity, impotence, incompetence. See disability.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
inability

To learn more about inability visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

in·a·bil·i·ty Audio Help (ĭn'ə-bĭl'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
n. Lack of ability or means.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

inability
noun
1.	lack of ability (especially mental ability) to do something [ant: ability]
2.	lacking the power to perform [ant: ability]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
inability [inəˈbiləti] noun

the lack of power, means, ability etc (to do something)
Example: I was surprised at his inability to read.

Arabic:	عَجْز، عَدَم قُدْرَه
Chinese (Simplified):	无力
Chinese (Traditional):	無力
Czech:	neschopnost
Danish:	manglende dygtighed; manglende evne
Dutch:	onvermogen
Estonian:	võimetus
Finnish:	kykenemättömyys
French:	incapacité
German:	die Unfähigkeit
Greek:	ανικανότητα
Hungarian:	képtelenség
Icelandic:	vangeta
Indonesian:	ketidakmampuan
Italian:	incapacità, inabilità

Japanese:	不能
Korean:	무능
Latvian:	nespēja
Lithuanian:	negalėjimas, nesugebėjimas
Norwegian:	manglende evne, udyktighet
Polish:	niezdolność (do)
Portuguese (Brazil):	incapacidade
Portuguese (Portugal):	incapacidade
Romanian:	neputinţă
Russian:	неспособность
Slovak:	neschopnosť
Slovenian:	nezmožnost
Spanish:	incapacidad
Swedish:	oförmåga
Turkish:	yetersizlik, kabiliyetsizlik

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Inability

Dis`a*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Disabilities. 1. State of being disabled; deprivation or want of ability; absence of competent physical, intellectual, or moral power, means, fitness, and the like.

Grossest faults, or disabilities to perform what was covenanted. --Milton.

Chatham refused to see him, pleading his disability. --Bancroft.

2. Want of legal qualification to do a thing; legal incapacity or incompetency.

The disabilities of idiocy, infancy, and coverture. --Abbott.

Syn: Weakness; inability; incompetence; impotence; incapacity; incompetency; disqualification.

Usage: -- Disability, Inability. Inability is an inherent want of power to perform the thing in question; disability arises from some deprivation or loss of the needed competency. One who becomes deranged is under a disability of holding his estate; and one who is made a judge, of deciding in his own case. A man may decline an office on account of his inability to discharge its duties; he may refuse to accept a trust or employment on account of some disability prevents him from entering into such engagements.

Browse Nearby Entries: