inability

English

Etymology

From earlier inhability (“disqualification for office”), equivalent to in- +‎ hability. Compare Middle French inhabilité, Medieval Latin inhabilitās.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

inability (countable and uncountable, plural inabilities)

1. Lack of the ability to do something; incapability.
   • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Jack Wilshere scores twice to ease Arsenal to victory over Marseille (in The Guardian, 26 November 2013)[1]

     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.

2. Lack of the option to do something; powerlessness.

Synonyms

• unability

Translations

lack of the ability to do something; incapability

• Bulgarian: неспособност (bg) f (nesposobnost)
• Dutch: onvermogen (nl)
• Esperanto: nekapableco
• Finnish: kyvyttömyys (fi), kykenemättömyys (fi)
• French: incapacité (fr) f
• German: Unfähigkeit (de) f, Unvermögen (de) n
• Greek: αδυναμία (el) f (adynamía)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani:

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: неможност f (nemožnost)
• Polish: niemożność (pl) f, niezdolność (pl) f
• Portuguese: inabilidade f, incapacidade (pt) f
• Romanian: incapacitate (ro) f, incapabilitate f, neputință (ro) f
• Russian: неспосо́бность (ru) f (nesposóbnostʹ), невозмо́жность (ru) f (nevozmóžnostʹ)
• Spanish: incapacidad (es) f
• Swedish: oförmåga (sv)

lack of the option to do something; powerlessness

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Esperanto: senpoveco