Incapable
[ɪn'keɪpəb(ə)l] or [ɪn'kepəbl]
Definition
(adj.) not meeting requirements; 'unequal to the demands put upon him' .
(adj.) (followed by `of') lacking capacity or ability; 'incapable of carrying a tune'; 'he is incapable of understanding the matter'; 'incapable of doing the work' .
(adj.) (followed by `of') not having the temperament or inclination for; 'simply incapable of lying' .
(adj.) not being susceptible to or admitting of something (usually followed by `of'); 'incapable of solution' .
Checked by Carlton--From WordNet
Definition
(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.
(a.) 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.
(a.) 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.
(a.) 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.
(a.) As a term of disgrace, sometimes annexed to a sentence when an officer has been cashiered and rendered incapable of serving his country.
(n.) One who is morally or mentally weak or inefficient; an imbecile; a simpleton.
Inputed by Antonia
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Unqualified, unable, incapable, unfitted, weak, incompetent, feeble,disqualified, insufficient
ANT:Qualified, able, fitted, strong, clever
Typed by Essie
Definition
adj. not capable: insufficient unable: lacking mental capacity: unconscious of: helplessly drunk: disqualified.—n. one lacking capacity.—n. Incapabil′ity.—adv. Incap′ably.
Typed by Ada
Examples
- God was the loving father of all life, as incapable of showing favour as the universal sun. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- I asked, terrified at the unexpected sound, and incapable now of deriving from any occurrence a hope of aid. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Yet the thought of Plato may not be wholly incapable of application to our own times. Plato. The Republic.
- The poor lady was incapable of telling me. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Selden had given her of his best; but he was as incapable as herself of an uncritical return to former states of feeling. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- It was an animating subject, and Mrs. Bennet seemed incapable of fatigue while enumerating the advantages of the match. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
- He is incapable of it. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- He is incapable of arguing, and is bewildered by Socrates to such a degree that he does not know what he is saying. Plato. The Republic.
- I hope,' said the impressive lady, 'I am incapable of it. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Those men in Washington, most of them lawyers, are so educated that they are practically incapable of meeting a new condition. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- The person who holds fast to that idea is forever incapable of understanding either men or constitutions. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- And the State which is enslaved under a tyrant is utterly incapable of acting voluntarily? Plato. The Republic.
- I listened to my father in silence, and remained for some time incapable of offering any reply. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- They are incapable of making their own nests, or of feeding their own larvae. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- So does the eye of Heaven itself become an evil eye, when incapable or sordid hands are interposed between it and the things it looks upon to bless. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- But a coward, a man incapable either of defending or of revenging himself, evidently wants one of the most essential parts of the character of a man. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- Shattered by my miserable health and my family troubles, I am incapable of resistance. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I have intimated my view of the case: I am incapable of taking any other. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- Of this conduct I am incapable. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- I am incapable of designs. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- The discovery--I don't know why--gave me such a shock, that I was perfectly incapable of speaking to her for the moment. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- After the institution of feudal subordination, the king was as incapable of restraining the violence of the great lords as before. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- But he is incapable of defending them in a discussion, and vainly tries to cover his confusion with banter and insolence. Plato. The Republic.
- He is the most fearful of giving pain, of wounding expectation, and the most incapable of being selfish, of any body I ever saw. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
- We talked of change and active pursuits, but still remained at Windsor, incapable of violating the charm that attached us to our secluded life. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- He was left in the air, incapable of conducting sieges or establishing conquests. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- Such tales may possibly have a mystical interpretation, but the young are incapable of understanding allegory. Plato. The Republic.
- Losses under this system have grown so small as to be almost incapable of mathematical calculation. William Henry Doolittle. Inventions in the Century.
- He was quite incapable of any compassionate feeling about the boy, or about his fate. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- And yet he was absolutely incapable of working out the practical points which must be gone into before a case could be laid before a judge or jury. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Typed by Ada