handicap
Other forms: handicapped; handicaps; handicapping
A mental or physical disadvantage, such as blindness or a missing leg, is a handicap: something that disables you in some way. Handicaps can also be imposed artificially to even out the odds in sporting events.
A sporting handicap might be a faster horse carrying an extra weight, or a better golfer having a few strokes added to her score to make things more competitive. Sometimes fate imposes a handicap, as when bad weather handicaps your travel plans, or a strike handicaps the subway system. Handicap comes from the term hand in cap, an ancient British practice in which two bettors placed their money into a hat held by a neutral third party before a bet.
Definitions of handicap
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the condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness
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synonyms:
disability, disablement, impairment
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types:
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bandy leg, bandyleg, bow leg, bowleg, genu varum, tibia vara
a leg bowed outward at the knee (or below the knee)
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anorgasmia
absence of an orgasm in sexual relations
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dysphasia
an impairment of language (especially speech production) that is usually due to brain damage
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disability of walking
a disability that interferes with or prevents walking
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astasia
inability to stand due to muscular incoordination
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amputation
a condition of disability resulting from the loss of one or more limbs
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hearing disorder, hearing impairment
impairment of the sense of hearing
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dysomia
impairment of the sense of smell
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vision defect, visual defect, visual disorder, visual impairment
impairment of the sense of sight
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descensus, prolapse, prolapsus
the slipping or falling out of place of an organ (as the uterus)
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hypesthesia, hypoesthesia
impairment of tactile sensitivity; decrease of sensitivity
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genu valgum, knock-knee, tibia valga
an inward slant of the thigh
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pigeon toes
disability in which the toes are turned inward; often associated with knock-knee
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bandy legs, bow leg, bow legs
outward curvature of the legs
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disintegration
a loss (or serious disruption) of organization in some system
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enteroptosis
an abnormally downward position of the intestines in the abdominal cavity
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amaurosis
partial or total loss of sight without pathology of the eye; caused by disease of optic nerve or retina or brain
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amblyopia
visual impairment without apparent organic pathology
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ametropia
(ophthalmology) faulty refraction of light rays in the eye as in astigmatism or myopia
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aniseikonia
visual defect in which the shape and size of an ocular image differ in the two eyes
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anorthopia
distorted vision in which straight lines appear curved
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aphakia
absence of the natural lens of the eye (usually resulting from the removal of cataracts)
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blindness, cecity, sightlessness
the state of being blind or lacking sight
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color blindness, color vision deficiency, colour blindness, colour vision deficiency
genetic inability to distinguish differences in hue
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diplopia, double vision
visual impairment in which an object is seen as two objects
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glossoptosis
abnormal downward or back placement of the tongue
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abasia
inability to walk
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claudication, gameness, gimp, gimpiness, lameness, limping
disability of walking due to crippling of the legs or feet
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deafness, hearing loss
partial or complete loss of hearing
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conduction deafness, conductive hearing loss, middle-ear deafness
hearing loss due to problems with the bones of the middle ear
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auditory hyperesthesia, hyperacusia, hyperacusis
abnormal acuteness of hearing due to increased irritability of the sensory neural mechanism; characterized by intolerance for ordinary sound levels
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nerve deafness, sensorineural hearing loss
hearing loss due to failure of the auditory nerve
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anosmia
absence of the sense of smell (as by damage to olfactory nasal tissue or the olfactory nerve or by obstruction of the nasal passages)
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hyposmia
lessened sensitivity to odors
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day blindness, hemeralopia
inability to see clearly in bright light
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hemianopia, hemianopsia
blindness in one half of the visual field of one or both eyes
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quadrantanopia
blindness in one fourth of the visual field
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metamorphopsia
a defect of vision in which objects appear to be distorted; usually due to a defect in the retina
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moon blindness, night blindness, nyctalopia
inability to see clearly in dim light; due to a deficiency of vitamin A or to a retinal disorder
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photoretinitis
damage to the retina resulting from exposure of the eye to the sun without adequate protection
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detached retina, detachment of the retina, retinal detachment
visual impairment resulting from the retina becoming separated from the choroid in the back of the eye; treated by photocoagulation
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scotoma
an isolated area of diminished vision within the visual field
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tunnel vision
visual impairment involving a loss of peripheral vision
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descensus uteri, metroptosis
prolapse of the uterus
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nephroptosia, nephroptosis
prolapse of the kidney
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ptosis
drooping of the upper eyelid caused by muscle paralysis and weakness
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ureterocele
prolapse of the end of the ureter into the bladder; may obstruct urine flow
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urethrocele
prolapse of the urethra into the vagina
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xanthopsia
visual defect in which objects appear to have a yellowish hue; sometimes occurs in cases of jaundice
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injure permanently
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something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
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synonyms:
balk, baulk, check, deterrent, hinderance, hindrance, impediment
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types:
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albatross, millstone
(figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
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bind
something that hinders as if with bonds
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diriment impediment
(canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage)
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drag
something that slows or delays progress
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obstacle, obstruction
something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
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straitjacket
anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines
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barrier, roadblock
any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective
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hang-up, hitch, rub, snag
an unforeseen obstacle
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hurdle
an obstacle that you are expected to overcome
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stymie, stymy
a thwarting and distressing situation
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type of:
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difficulty
a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result
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put at a disadvantage
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type of:
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disadvantage, disfavor, disfavour
put at a disadvantage; hinder, harm
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disadvantage, disfavor, disfavour
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advantage given to a competitor to equalize chances of winning
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types:
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penalty
(games) a handicap or disadvantage that is imposed on a competitor (or a team) for an infraction of the rules of the game
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scratch
(golf) a handicap of zero strokes
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game misconduct
(ice hockey) a penalty that suspends a player for the remainder of a game (but allows the team to send in a substitute for the suspended player)
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penalty
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attempt to forecast the winner (especially in a horse race) and assign odds for or against a contestant
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type of:
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bias
influence in an unfair way
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bias
Pronunciation
US
/ˌhændiˈkæp/
UK
/ˈhændikæp/
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Vocabulary lists containing handicap
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Vocabulary from Readings 6, Unit 3
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