DISABLING Synonyms: 105 Similar and Opposite Words

disabling

verb

present participle of disable

as in crippling

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in paralyzing

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 disabling For the majority of people with schizophrenia, however, the condition is persistent, disabling and isolating. — Matthew Kurtz, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026 Iran targeted that base with a missile attack, partly disabling it. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2026 An officer found the vehicle and suspects in a parking lot on Mission Street south of Bay Street and tried to stop them when the driver collided with the officer's patrol vehicle, injuring the officer and disabling the patrol vehicle, police said. — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 Aug. 2026 Its 2026 defense drills include disabling the internet to test civil resilience and practicing drone warfare strategies inspired by Ukraine. — Ann Scott Tyson, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Aug. 2026 This is a mass disabling event, concentrated in working-age people and skewed female, behaving exactly as post-viral illness always has. — Keely Cat-Wells, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Iran is the prime suspect in the cyberattacks, which can blind utility operators by changing passwords or disabling alarms, according to the sources, though its involvement has not been officially confirmed. — Luke Barr, ABC News, 4 Aug. 2026 Powerful solar storms, like the one that hit Earth in January, are capable of disrupting or disabling satellites by interfering with onboard electronics, sensitive instruments and communications systems. — Josh Dinner, Space.com, 23 July 2026 Fowler’s medical chart detailed what could have caused her disabling problems. — Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for disabling

Verb

And the high pay they’re being offered as a lure is crippling the economy.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 15 Aug. 2026
Trump claims the United States has opened the strait to all commercial ships other than those from Iran, crippling Iran's economy because of its reliance on oil exports.

— Joey Garrison, USA Today, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of crippling

Verb

National Guardsmen marched in the paralyzing heat, which, along with the shadows cast by a revolving sculpture in the courtyard, suggested the eerie calm before the gunfight in a Western.

— Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026
Responsible deployment does not require paralyzing every use case.

— Stephen Messer, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of paralyzing

Verb

All that before disorienting and incapacitating a potential school shooter in about a minute.

— Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026
The driver hits Leatherface in the head with a wrench, incapacitating him long enough for the driver to run away and Sally to jump into the cab of a passing pickup truck.

— Jordana Rosenfeld, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 July 2026

Definition of incapacitating

Verb

The same practices that have allowed the Kremlin to relentlessly tighten its political control are also undermining the state’s capacity to govern.

— Andrei Soldatov, Foreign Affairs, 31 Aug. 2026
As to alleged contempt, the siblings could argue that exploration of a sale of the team should not count as evidence of undermining the 2017 court order.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of undermining

Verb

Christian Castro faces Minnesota charges of assault and falsely reporting a crime after allegedly firing through a home’s front door and wounding 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis during an immigration crackdown.

— Michael Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Brooklyn Center police say an investigation is underway after two girls riding a minibike collided with a motorist, fatally wounding one of the girls.

— Cole Premo, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of wounding

Verb

Throughout this year, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has been weakening the Navy’s leadership by blocking the promotion of nearly 20 admirals.

— Andrea N. Goldstein, The Atlantic, 28 Aug. 2026
Wheat futures hit their highest level in more than three years as the war in Ukraine strained supplies, further weakening the global food system.

— Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of weakening

Verb

Prosecutors have also charged him with making false statements to investigators about allegedly damaging Mica’s car tires.

— Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 27 Aug. 2026
Russian drones hit three major distribution centers, destroying depots belonging to a toy store chain and a confectionery company, and damaging another run by an electronics retailer, the companies said.

— Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of damaging

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disables

disabling

disabuse

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“Disabling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disabling. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of disabling

verb

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