DISABLED Synonyms: 135 Similar and Opposite Words

disabled 1 of 2

adjective

dis-ˈā-bəld

Definition of disabled

as in impaired

deprived of the power to perform one or more natural bodily activities the disabled man was unable to climb the stairs without help

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

disabled

2 of 2

verb

past tense of disable

as in crippled

to cause severe or permanent injury to a promising athlete who was severely disabled in a plane crash

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in paralyzed

to render powerless, ineffective, or unable to move disabled the controls for unauthorized users

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of disabled

Adjective

The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for retirees and disabled beneficiaries is financed by payroll taxes collected from workers and their employers, up to a certain annual salary. — ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026 The former owner of several unlicensed North Texas boarding homes was sentenced this week to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges tied to the abuse and fatal neglect of elderly and disabled clients in her care. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026

Verb

Still, about 12% of all children in foster care live in congregate settings, and those kids are far more likely to be disabled. — Joseph Shapiro, NPR, 30 Sep. 2026 In 2023, the company retired the old-school browser on Windows PCs with an update that permanently disabled it. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disabled

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disabled

Adjective

On White Cane Awareness Day, an annual observance celebrating the achievements and independence of visually impaired individuals, Darnes and more than 50 other veterans received a free pair of Meta smart glasses.

— La'Tasha Givens, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
The frame of the Universal Wawona 3 tent comes together with three poles of the same size, eliminating the need for designers to use color coding that would be useless to the visually impaired to signal which pole goes where.

— Rae Witte, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of impaired

Verb

He is crippled by doubt, convinced that others are gaining on him.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026
The long nightmare might be over for South African producers, whose industry has been crippled for more than two years by the paralysis of a rebate program that for all intents and purposes had ceased to function.

— Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of crippled

Verb

The Vatican has no specific rules on how the leadership of the Catholic Church is transferred should the pope be incapacitated.

— Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Medical advances and popes’ longer lifespans, however, have highlighted this gap in church law and prompted calls for the Vatican to prepare for a pope becoming too ill or incapacitated to govern.

— ABC News, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of incapacitated

Adjective

When machines can instantly replicate the average, the only true moat is the exceptional.

— Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
The Brewers have an exceptional amount of talent too, and Murphy's routine of pretending like his team is a bunch of humble farmers who were playing stickball out back a few days ago is absurd and offensive.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of exceptional

Verb

Five people were killed and 36 wounded in a Russian attack on the Ukrainian capital that lasted from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning, Kyiv police said.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 15 Oct. 2026
The two exchanged gunfire, and she was shot in the thigh and knee and wounded in her index finger.

— Meagan Harris, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of wounded

Verb

Police said 23 people were detained overnight, while six officers and one journalist were injured.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
With both Penix and Tagovailoa injured to begin the season and Cooper Rush at quarterback, the offense scored just 16 points over the first two weeks of the season.

— Ryan Canfield OutKick, FOXNews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of injured

Browse Nearby Words

disable

disabled

disablement

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Disabled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disabled. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of disabled

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster on disabled

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vocation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes