Search the Dictionary

Incapable of speaking; dumb. Dryden.

f the atmosphere by volume. It is chemically very inert in the free state, and as such is incapable of supporting life (hence the name azote still used by French chemists); but it forms many important compounds, as ammonia, nitric acid, the cyanides, etc, and is a constituent of all organized living tissues, animal or…

Not condensible; incapable of being liquefied; -- said of gases.

Not extensile; incapable of being stretched.

A genus of birds allied to the gallinules, but having rudimentary wings and incapable of flight. Notornis Mantelli was first known as a fossil bird of New Zealand, but subsequently a few individuals were found living on the southern island. It is supposed to be now nearly or quite extinct.

d for rapid running; only two toes; a long neck, nearly bare of feathers; and short wings incapable of flight. The adult male is about eight feet high.

intimate supervision of their business and social concerns, upon the theory that they are incapable of managing their own afffairs.

Requiring light to live; incapable of living without light; as, photobiotic plant cells.

Incapable of being quenched; inextinguishable; as, quenchless fire or fury. "Once kindled, quenchless evermore." Byron.

Incapable of being ransomed; without ransom. Shak.

n of an error; the rectification of spirits. After the rectification of his views, he was incapable of compromise with profounder shapes of error. De Quincey.

Incapable of cure. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Not admitting of a remedy; incapable of being restored or corrected; incurable; irreparable; as, a remediless mistake or loss. "Chains remedilesse." Spenser. Hopeless are all my evils, all remediless. Milton.

or, etc., from reaching the cloth, or chemically in changing the color so as to render it incapable of fixing itself in the fibers.. The pastes prepared for this purpose are called resist pastes. F. C. Calvert.

Incapable of being resisted; irresistible. Masters' commands come with a power resistless To such as owe them absolute subjection. Milton. -- Re*sist"less*ly, adv. -- Re*sist"less*ness, n.

Incapable of doing harm; no longer dangerous; in secure care or custody; as, the prisoner is safe. But Banquo's safe Ay, my good lord, safe in a ditch he bides. Shak. Safe hit (Baseball), a hit which enables the batter to get to first base even if no error is made by the other side.

A giddy or thoughtless person; one incapable of concentration or attention. [Written also scatter-brains.]

fresh vegetable food, or confinement for a long time to a limited range of food, which is incapable of repairing the waste of the system. It was formerly prevalent among sailors and soldiers. Scurvy grass Etym: [Scurvy + grass; or cf. Icel. skarfakal scurvy grass.] (Bot.) A kind of cress (Cochlearia officinalis) growin…

To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping; as, to secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship.

Incapable of deep feeling. Tennyson.