How to Use incapacitate in a Sentence

incapacitate

verb
  • He was incapacitated by the pain.
  • The class teaches you how to incapacitate an attacker.
  • The stroke left her completely incapacitated.
  • One sting from the snail is enough to incapacitate a small fish.
    Gabe Allen, Discover Magazine, 14 Apr. 2022
  • Richter struck him in the face, knocking him to the ground and incapacitating him.
    Katy Moeller, idahostatesman, 24 Oct. 2017
  • My first shot was far back, right through the hips, so the buck was incapacitated.
    Joe Genzel, Outdoor Life, 1 June 2020
  • But in the end, Judge Meltzer found Mr. Shaw to be incapacitated, and approved of his being placed in the care of a guardian.
    Michael Wilson, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Their plan: to incapacitate Gooch (played by Ann Dowd in the film) with a taser, make off with the book, and fence it in Amsterdam.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 1 June 2018
  • Living the rest of his life incapacitated like that was too much for Chris to bear.
    Erika Hayasaki, WIRED, 18 Apr. 2017
  • Known for her over-the-top wigs and love for gossip, the monarch keeps the ton in check, while her husband, King George (James Fleet), remains incapacitated.
    Charlotte Walsh, Peoplemag, 3 May 2023
  • Dry stun refers to the use of a taser on a person to inflict pain without incapacitating the person.
    Davi Merchan, ABC News, 29 Sep. 2023
  • The lawsuit says one of the first two shots incapacitated Albers, and that the rest of the movements of the van, now out of control, were caused by Jenison's actions.
    Joe Robertson, Ian Cummings and Tony Rizzo, kansascity, 17 Apr. 2018
  • The new round would fire from pistols, shotguns, and grenade launchers and incapacitate them rather than kill them.
    Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 6 Sep. 2018
  • Attempt to go hands-free for more than 30 seconds and the car will assume you are incapacitated, slowing to a stop in the lane with the hazard lights on.
    Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 7 Dec. 2017
  • Drink-spiking drugs have been used for years to incapacitate victims, so they can be robbed.
    Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 25 Apr. 2023
  • Killing or incapacitating a police dog could bring a sentence of three to 10 years in prison.
    Matt Campbell and Jason Hancock, kansascity, 13 Feb. 2018
  • For the next three months, I was incapacitated by all that sobbing.
    Meredith Maran, Washington Post, 8 May 2023
  • His partner ended up pulling the trigger, aiming for the man’s legs to incapacitate him, but Levi froze up.
    Sam Russek, The New Republic, 20 Oct. 2023
  • Once locked on, the radar could be spotted by Israeli bombs, incapacitating the SAM sites.
    Phil Patton, WIRED, 1 Mar. 1996
  • Since Joan is incapacitated, her son, wannabe investor Troy (Jimmy Tatro), is brought on to run the camp.
    Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2023
  • In the short term, police need better training in the use of non-lethal means of incapacitating suspects, such as tasers.
    The Economist, 8 Mar. 2018
  • The groups want to require notices to happen prior to the start of a shift, so long as the employee isn't incapacitated.
    Arpan Lobo, Detroit Free Press, 26 Sep. 2024
  • The elderly party is alleged to be incapacitated and made a ward of the court.
    Monique Judge, The Root, 10 Oct. 2017
  • Its flavor can be masked in a glass of wine, and victims can be incapacitated by a standard dose.
    Cara Tabachnick, Marie Claire, 20 Oct. 2015
  • If at some point the king is incapacitated, certain things will be set in motion.
    John Otis, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
  • The deputies returned fire and managed to incapacitate the suspect.
    Chris Pandolfo, Fox News, 20 June 2024
  • If Johnson is incapacitated by the virus, Raab will take over running of the country.
    Sam Knight, The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2020
  • Less shocked than crestfallen, Grace incapacitates the kid with a punch.
    Eren Orbey, The New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2019
  • On Sunday, police had to use a Taser to incapacitate the dog long enough to remove the boyfriend, who was lying unconscious on the floor with wounds that were bleeding.
    Ann Zaniewski and Christina Hall, USA TODAY, 3 May 2017
  • Joann Catlett, 47, was incapacitated for six months after a hysterectomy during which her ureter, the duct that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder, was cut.
    Holly Baltz, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incapacitate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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