inability
in-uh-BIL-i-tee/ˌɪnəˈbɪlɪti/
Pluralinabilities
- 1The state of not being able to do something.
His inability to swim kept him out of the deep end of the pool.
She laughed about her inability to remember people's names at parties.
Similarincapacity, incompetence, ineptitude, failure, incapability
Oppositeability, capability, capacity, competence
- 2The state of having no choice or power to do something.
Like being locked in a room with no key: you cannot get out, no matter how much you want to.
Their inability to leave the airport during the storm made everyone nervous.
He was angry about his inability to change the new rules at work.
Similarpowerlessness, impotence, helplessness, incapacity
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Origin
From an earlier word "inhability," made from "in-" plus "ability."