disabled
Americanadjective
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physically or mentally impaired, injured, or incapacitated.
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not working or operating properly, or at all; incapable or made incapable of functioning: They called the Coast Guard to tow the disabled boat to shore.
This feature is normally disabled on company computers.
They called the Coast Guard to tow the disabled boat to shore.
noun
adjective
Sensitive Note
Disabled is a comprehensive umbrella term to describe people or communities of people who live with functional limitations in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. When should disabled be used to describe someone? First, in many cases, there is no need to mention disability; it is often not relevant to the information being conveyed. In most cases, when disabilities are mentioned, it is preferable to name the person’s specific physical or mental condition, like diabetes or traumatic brain injury. However, when addressing an issue that affects the larger community of people living with such functional limitations in daily activities, for example, when discussing accessibility in the workplace, disabled and disability are the appropriate terms. Some people prefer person-first constructions like “a person with a disability” to emphasize the whole person, not defined exclusively by living with a disability. Others use identity-first language like “a disabled person” to center the disability as an important aspect of identity and push back on the presupposition that disability is inherently negative, unmentionable, or something to be politely ignored. Following similar logic, the euphemisms “special,” “challenged,” “differently abled,” and “handicapable” are not recommended. The straightforward, simple, and descriptive term disabled is preferred.
Usage
Nowadays it is better to refer to people with physical disabilities of various kinds by describing the specific difficulty in question rather than talking about the disabled as a group, which is considered somewhat offensive. Some people also object to the word disabled to refer to facilities for people with disabilites, and prefer the word accessible
Other Word Forms
- nondisabled noun
- semidisabled adjective
- undisabled adjective
Etymology
Origin of disabled
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The race director can choose between fully disabled - keeping both wings closed - or partially disabled, which means only the front wings open.
From BBC
It provides paid work experience at the London living wage to homeless people, disabled people, and prison leavers.
From BBC
"The Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with the disabled man who doesn't speak English, who is confused and lost," he said.
From BBC
Dan told the BBC the monitoring and caring for a severely disabled child meant neither he or his partner got much sleep, were exhausted and also had two other children to care for.
From BBC
She added: "These AI images don't appear from nowhere – they're built from real disabled people's images, often without consent – and unmoderated comment threads turbocharge objectification and harassment."
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
