gerund / present participle
It means making a machine, system, or feature stop working.
The update is disabling the security feature.
Disabling the alarm will stop the warning sound.
American English
How to pronounce disabling
verb · adjectiveB2Common word
dihSAYbuhlihng
/dɪˈseɪ.bə.lɪŋ/
4 syllables · Stress the second syllable.
Form of disable
Disabling is the gerund or present participle of disable. It is also commonly used as an adjective for something that causes a serious loss of ability.
It means making a machine, system, or feature stop working.
What to listen for
The main stress in “disabling” is on the middle syllable: dis-AY-bling.
Meanings & examples
gerund / present participle
It means stopping an account or service from being used, often for a period of time.
The website is disabling inactive accounts.
Disabling the service will stop new requests.
gerund / present participle
It means causing someone to lose the ability to use part of their body or to do some activities, often because of an injury or illness.
The disease is disabling him, but he still goes to work.
Doctors fear that the injury is disabling her permanently.
adjective
It describes an injury or illness that causes someone to lose some physical ability or makes normal activities very difficult.
He suffered a disabling injury in the war.
The illness caused disabling pain in both legs.
Related words & forms
Drop the final e before -ing: disabling.