What does incapacity mean?
Word: Incapacity
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Incapacity means a lack of the power or skill needed to do something.
Synonyms: powerlessness
Antonyms: ability, competence
How do you spell incapacity?
Syllables: in - ca - pac - i - ty
Tricky part: The s sound in the middle is written with a c, not an s, so incapasity and incapassity are the usual slips.
Watch out for: incapasity, incapassity
Memory tip: Two c's sit in this word and each says something different: the first is hard like k, while the second has the soft s sound of the c in face.
Incapacity in a sentence
Example 1: The committee admitted its incapacity to finish the new playground before the summer holidays.
Example 2: Leo laughed at his own incapacity to whistle, however hard he tried.
Example 3: The small ferry's incapacity to carry cars meant visitors left them on the mainland.
Fun Fact
The in at the front is the same not found in inactive and incorrect, while the rest of the word goes back to a Latin word linked with holding and taking in.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Fill in the missing letters to complete the word:
inc_p_city
a) e, a
b) a, a
c) o, a
d) a, e
Show answer
b) a, a. Both gaps hold the same short vowel, the one you hear in cap and pack.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is misspelt. Choose the meaning of the misspelt word:
1. persuasion 2. endurance 3. incapacaty 4. patience
a) being unable to manage or do something
b) getting someone to agree by giving good reasons
c) staying calm while you wait for something
d) the strength to keep going through hard times
Show answer
a) being unable to manage or do something. Persuasion, endurance and patience are spelt correctly, and incapacaty has the wrong vowel before its last two letters, so its meaning is the one to pick.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word incapacity as used in the sentence:
The tiny generator's incapacity to light the whole stage left the back rows in the dark.
a) readiness
b) strength
c) refusal
d) inability
Show answer
d) inability. The generator simply could not do the job, which is exactly what inability means; refusal would suggest it chose not to.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A shop that shows an incapacity to deliver on time is a shop that ____.
a) refuses to sell to anyone who lives far away
b) sends every parcel with a free gift inside it
c) keeps failing to get parcels out on the promised day
d) always gets parcels out a day earlier than promised
Show answer
c) keeps failing to get parcels out on the promised day
2. Zara has a cheerful incapacity to keep a secret. When she hears about a surprise party, ____.
a) nobody else ever finds out about it
b) the guest of honour soon hears about it too
c) she forgets about it straight away
d) she writes it in a locked diary
Show answer
b) the guest of honour soon hears about it too
