inability
/ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪti/
inability noun: lack of the ability to do something; incapability.
Noun
inability (countable and uncountable, plural inabilities)
- Lack of the ability to do something; incapability.
- […] tho' theſe ſeem'd to be very unfit Inſtruments for compaſſing of that great Deſign for which they were then employ'd, becauſe of their Inability and Uncapacity in performing the Work ſo very great and important; […]1720, John Shaw, “Of Religion”, in The Fundamental Doctrines of the Church of England, […], volume I, London: […] George Strahan, […] William Mears, […], page 36
- The Premier League leaders did what many people thought was beyond them in their last European excursion, at the home of Borussia Dortmund, and they made light work of overcoming Marseille on a night when the one-sidedness was not reflected by their inability to add to Jack Wilshere's two goals.2013 November 26, Daniel Taylor, “Jack Wilshere scores twice to ease Arsenal to victory over Marseille”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 14 Oct 2019
- Lack of the option to do something; powerlessness.
inability meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
inability in Hindi
- lack of the ability to do something; incapability
- अक्षमता akṣamtā, असमर्थता asmarthatā
- lack of the option to do something; powerlessness
- असमर्थता asmarthatā
inability in Tamil
- ஆற்றலின்மை, இயலாமை, இயலாமை முடியாமை
inability in Marathi
- असमर्थता, अक्षमता
inability in Urdu
- عاجزی, بےبسی, کمزوری, مجبوری, ناچاری
More languagesFewer languages
- inability in Bengali
- অক্ষমতা, অপটুতা, অসামর্থ্য
- inability in Malayalam
- പിടിപ്പുകേട് piṭippukēṭŭ
- inability in Kannada
- ಅಳವಿಲ್ಲದಿಕೆ, ನಲುವು, ಅಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ, ಅಶಕ್ತತೆ
- inability in Punjabi
- ਅਸਮਰੱਥਾ, ਅਯੋਗਤਾ
- inability in Gujarati
- અસમર્થતા, અક્ષમતા
- inability in Odia
- ଅକ୍ଷମତା, ଅସମର୍ଥତା
- inability in Sanskrit
- अक्षमा akṣamā
- inability in Nepali
- अक्षमता, असमर्थता, असक्षमता
Examples of inability in a sentence
- His inability to speak in front of an audience was his weakness.
- Leptosols are unattractive soils for rainfed agriculture because of their inability to hold water.
- Early signs of Duchenne muscular dystrophy may include pseudohypertrophy (enlargement of calf muscles), low endurance, and difficulties in standing unaided or inability to ascend staircases.
Synonyms of inability
Forms of inability
| plural | inabilities |
|---|
Origin of inability
From earlier inhability (“disqualification for office”), equivalent to in- + ability. Compare Middle French inhabilité, Medieval Latin inhabilitās.
Questions about inability
- What does inability mean?
- Inability means lack of the ability to do something; incapability.
- What is inability in Hindi?
- Inability in Hindi is अक्षमता (akṣamtā), असमर्थता (asmarthatā). See Inability meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is inability?
- Inability is a noun.
- How do you pronounce inability?
- Inability is pronounced /ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪti/.
- What is the plural of inability?
- The plural of inability is inabilities.
Words near inability in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: inability (page history and authors); inability (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inability (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inability (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); Inability (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); പിടിപ്പുകേട് (Malayalam) (page history and authors); inability (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inability (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inability (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inability (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); inability (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-inability.ogg.
Cite this entry: “inability.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inability. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.