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Definition of Incapable
1. Adjective. (followed by 'of') lacking capacity or ability. "Incapable of doing the work"
Similar to: Unable
Also: Incompetent
Antonyms: Capable
Derivative terms: Incapability, Incapableness
2. Adjective. Not being susceptible to or admitting of something (usually followed by 'of'). "Incapable of solution"
3. Adjective. (followed by 'of') not having the temperament or inclination for. "Simply incapable of lying"
4. Adjective. Not meeting requirements. "Unequal to the demands put upon him"
Similar to: Inadequate, Unequal
Derivative terms: Incapability, Incompetence
Definition of Incapable
1. a. Wanting in ability or qualification for the purpose or end in view; not large enough to contain or hold; deficient in physical strength, mental or moral power, etc.; not capable; as, incapable of holding a certain quantity of liquid; incapable of endurance, of comprehension, of perseverance, of reform, etc.
2. n. One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton.
Definition of Incapable
1. Adjective. Not being capable (of doing something); unable. ¹
2. Noun. (dated) One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Incapable
1. [adj]
Medical Definition of Incapable
1. 1. Wanting in ability or qualification for the purpose or end in view; not large enough to contain or hold; deficient in physical strength, mental or moral power, etc.; not capable; as, incapable of holding a certain quantity of liquid; incapable of endurance, of comprehension, of perseverance, of reform, etc. 2. Not capable of being brought to do or perform, because morally strong or well disposed; used with reference to some evil; as, incapable of wrong, dishonesty, or falsehood. 3. Not in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit; as, incapable of pain, or pleasure; incapable of stain or injury. 4. Unqualified or disqualified, in a legal sense; as, a man under thirty-five years of age is incapable of holding the office of president of the United States; a person convicted on impeachment is thereby made incapable of holding an office of profit or honor under the government. 5. As a term of disgrace, sometimes annexed to a sentence when an officer has been cashiered and rendered incapable of serving his country. Incapable is often used elliptically. "Is not your father grown incapable of reasonable affairs?" (Shak) Synonym: Incompetent, unfit, unable, insufficient, inadequate, deficient, disqualified. See Incompetent. Origin: Pref. In- not + capable: cf. F. Incapable, L. Incapabilis incomprehensible. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Incapable
Literary usage of Incapable
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. English Constitutional History from the Teutonic Conquest to the Present Time by Thomas Pitt Taswell-Langmead (1905)
"Declared incapable of re-election, 1768. The declaration expunged from the ...
1875- but resolved that his expulsion rendered him " incapable of being ..."
2. La démocratie libérale by Thomas Hodgkin, Etienne Vacherot (1896)
"incapable through want of —'.—— self-restraint was the fierce ... incapable, from
utter lack of courage and every Valerian soldierly quality, was Valerian, ..."
3. United States Supreme Court Reports by Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Company, United States Supreme Court (1885)
"that during ail this lime he was mentally and physically incapable of attending
to his business, or knowing of and performing his obliga- ; ¡ons, ..."
4. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing by Johann Jakob Herzog, Philip Schaff, Albert Hauck (1911)
"Such utterances contradict the Christian Science teaching that " man is incapable
of death." The teaching of Christian Science that " man is perfect even as ..."
5. View of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages by Henry Hallam (1837)
"... he was incapable of returning afterward to a secular life, or preserving the
character of sovereignty.* Circumstances enabled him to retain the empire, ..."
6. The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication by Charles Darwin (1899)
"I shall also show that certain characters are incapable of fusion. The eflects
of free or uncontrolled breeding between the members of the same variety or ..."
7. The Law of Psychic Phenomena: A Working Hypothesis for the Systematic Study by Thomson Jay Hudson (1900)
"Dogmatism of Subjective Intelligence. — incapable ... The subjective mind is
incapable of inductive reasoning. Let it here be understood that this ..."
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