Incapable Meaning
/ɪnˈkeɪpəbl̩/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot capable (of doing something); unable.
adjNot in a state to receive; not receptive; not susceptible; not able to admit.
Sentence Examples
Ostriches are incapable of flight.
The child was incapable of understanding his father's death.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the accident, the driver was ____ of driving due to severe injuries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Without the proper tools, we are completely ____ of fixing the broken water pipe ourselves.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Middle French incapable, equivalent to in- + capable.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The British people seem incapable of avoiding the habit of leaving litter wherever they go, and the railways certainly seem to receive their fair share of it, in carriages and on stations."
— 1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 254:
"According to the prevailing Danish rationale, Greenlanders were naïve and childlike, in need of protection and incapable of governing themselves."
— 2019 August 22, Matthew H. Birkhold, “A Brief History of the Indignities Heaped Upon Greenland”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 16 Jul 2020:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the accident, the driver was ____ of driving due to severe injuries.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Without the proper tools, we are completely ____ of fixing the broken water pipe ourselves.