inability
Americannoun
noun
Synonym Usage
See disability.
Etymology
Origin of inability
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English inabilite, from Medieval Latin inhabilitās; equivalent to in- 3 + ability
Explanation
An inability refers to lacking the capacity to do something. A deaf person has an inability to hear. If you know that abilities are things people can do — like the ability of a basketball player to dunk the ball — then you might already have figured out that an inability is something a person cannot do. Most people have an inability to dunk a basketball. People who eat too much have an inability to resist food. Often, this word refers to having mental limitations: an inability to think or figure something out. We all have different abilities and inabilities.
Vocabulary lists containing inability
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The real disclosure of “Disclosure Day” turns out to be our own inability to listen: how everyone gets so wrapped up in themselves they often miss the larger picture.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
In its initial-public-offering filing, SpaceX said its projected $26.5 trillion AI total addressable market will be “constrained by Earth’s inability to rapidly scale power generation.”
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
"They each expressed regret over the inability of the industrial partners to reach an agreement on continuing the project," the official added.
From Barron's • Jun. 8, 2026
This inability to spread risk made U.S. banks, and the economy they served, inherently fragile, with a financial infrastructure prone to amplifying shocks rather than absorbing them.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
But his inability to see it was not the cause of the deep disquiet within him.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
