inability
NounUS[in-uh-bil-ih-tee]/ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪti/5 syllables
Synonyms:
unfitness
Open English WordNet
Noun (2)
- lack of ability (especially mental ability) to do somethingOpposite abilityType of cognition, knowledgeKinds stupidity, unskillfulness, incomprehension, affluenza, inaptitude, incapacity, illiteracy, block, uncreativeness
- lacking the power to performSynonyms: unfitnessOpposite abilityType of qualityKinds incompetence, insufficiency, flightlessness, indiscernibility, insensitivity, indefinability, unmusicality, incapability, unadaptability
Word of the day · Nov 10About this word
hiatusnoun
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Noun lack of the ability to do something
- Spanish
- incapacidad
- French
- incapacité
- German
- Unfähigkeit
- Italian
- incapacità
- Portuguese
- incapacidade
- Turkish
- yetersizlik
- Russian
- неспосо́бность nesposóbnostʹ
- Arabic
- عَجْز ʕajz
- Chinese
- 无能 wúnéng
- Japanese
- 無能 munō
11 more languages
- Dutch
- onvermogen
- Polish
- nieumiejętność
- Swedish
- oförmåga
- Greek
- ανικανότητα anikanóita
- Korean
- 무능력 muneungnyeok
- Indonesian
- ketidakmampuan
- Portuguese (PT)
- incapacidade
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 無能 wúnéng
- Catalan
- incapacitat
- Finnish
- kyvyttömyys
- Romanian
- incapacitate
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
In′a·bil′i·ty noun
Origin: Pref. in- not + ability: cf. F. inhabileté. See Able, and cf. Unable.
The quality or state of being unable; lack of ability; lack of sufficient power, strength, resources, or capacity.
It is not from an inability to discover what they ought to do, that men err in practice.— Hugh Blair
Synonyms: Impotence; incapacity; incompetence; weakness; powerlessness; incapability. See Disability.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54