uncountable noun [oft with poss, oft NOUN to-infinitive]
The incapacityof a person, society, or system to do something is their inability to do it.
[formal]
...Europe's incapacity to take collective action.
Synonyms: inability, inadequacy, powerlessness, ineffectiveness More Synonyms of incapacity
incapacity in British English
(ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪtɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ties
1.
lack of power, strength, or capacity; inability
2. law
a.
legal disqualification or ineligibility
b.
a circumstance causing this
incapacity in American English
(ˌɪnkəˈpæsɪti)
noun
1.
lack of capacity, power, or fitness; disability
2.
legal ineligibility or disqualification
Word origin
Fr incapacité < ML incapacitas
Examples of 'incapacity' in a sentence
incapacity
Or a politically correct reluctance to joke about mental incapacity?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The huge scale of welfare dependency was exposed during a mass reassessment of incapacity benefit claimants.
The Sun (2012)
This has enabled him to come off incapacity benefit and improve his chances of finding work.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Mental incapacity of the accused must not be allowed to obstruct the course of justice.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
But all current claimants of incapacity benefit would be reassessed.
The Sun (2010)
He had to draw incapacity benefit and lost confidence.
The Sun (2009)
All incapacity benefit claimants will be forced to undergo tests to prove that they are unfit to work.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Sick leave is a privilege to assure the employee some continuity of compensation in times of illness or incapacity.
Christianity Today (2000)
At the end of sickness benefit claimants will move on to incapacity benefit if they are still without work.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Their benefit was then stopped but they still claim 90 a week incapacity benefit.
The Sun (2008)
She is currently given 98 a week in incapacity benefit.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Three quarters of incapacity benefit claimants checked by the Government have proved fit for work.
The Sun (2010)
This is at a time when the Government was talking tough about incapacity benefit.
The Sun (2010)
The Government will also test existing incapacity benefit claimants.
The Sun (2011)
None of them is working, and five are in receipt of incapacity benefit.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
New incapacity benefit claimants and existing claimants under 25 will also face mandatory skills tests.
The Sun (2008)
Labour welfare reform focused on incapacity benefit, while housing benefit remains ripe for reform.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
An additional 2,000 is available for former claimants of incapacity benefit.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It's almost a career choice to claim incapacity benefit in this area.
The Sun (2008)
All 1.5million claimants of incapacity benefit are undergoing checks to see if they are fit for work.
The Sun (2012)
Government now has its work cut out on incapacity and housing benefit, where some brutal if necessary changes are under way.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Its plans to contact potential debtors as proposed may not be enough to reach vulnerable people with certain health conditions, such as mental incapacity.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
First, social security and healthcare systems that emphasise incapacity rather than capacity find it tougher to deliver results for people with long-term or chronic conditions.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
A narrow majority of 55 per cent said they had relied on benefits due to unemployment, illness or incapacity.
The Sun (2013)
(noun)
Definition
lack of power, strength, or ability
They have a total incapacity to laugh at themselves.
Synonyms
inability
Her inability to concentrate could cause an accident.