# disability

Pronunciation: US say "dis-uh-BIL-i-tee" /dɪsəˈbɪlɪti/; UK

## Noun

1. The condition of living with a significant limitation in one's physical or intellectual abilities.
   - Simple: The state of living with something that limits what your body or mind can do.
   - _The onset of disability in later life forced him to rethink his daily routines._
   - _Public attitudes toward disability have shifted considerably over recent decades._
2. A condition marked by a significant limitation in a person's physical or intellectual abilities.
   - Simple: A condition that strongly limits what a person's body or mind can do.
   - _A congenital disability was identified during her first year of life._
   - _The clinic specializes in diagnosing developmental disabilities in young children._
3. A limitation in what a person can do, arising from both their impairments and a society that fails to accommodate their needs.
   - Simple: Something a person cannot do easily, caused partly by their body and partly by a world not built for them.
   - _Campaigners argued that the disability lay as much in the inaccessible transit system as in any impairment._
   - _Better workplace design can shrink a disability that rigid offices once magnified._
4. Regular payments, usually from the government, made to a person who is disabled. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Money the government pays regularly to a person who is disabled.
   - _After the injury, he applied for disability to help support his family._
   - _The monthly disability arrived late, leaving them short on bills._
5. A lack of legal qualification or capacity to do something.
   - Simple: A legal reason that stops someone from doing something.
   - _Bankruptcy imposed a disability preventing him from serving as a company director._
   - _The statute lifted the disability that once stopped certain heirs from inheriting._

## Noun

6. The lack of ability or power to do something. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Not being able to do something.

## Origin

Formed around 1570 from "disable" combined with the suffix "-ity".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/disability (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).