A capability that cannot be exercised without catastrophic cost to the agent is functionally equivalent to its absence, making the capability/functioning distinction a liberal idealization.

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Catastrophic cost(as used in ethical analysis): A price so high or damaging that paying it would cause severe harm or ruin to the person involved.
Liberal (in philosophical context)(as used in political and social philosophy): A philosophical approach emphasizing individual freedom and rights; here it suggests an optimistic view that doesn't account for harsh real-world constraints.
capability(Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika Abhidharma metaphysics): A dharma's causal function of generating effects in dharmas outside its own consciousness series; also called vertical causality. Explains the causal efficacy of past dharmas.
functionally equivalent(as used in philosophy of mind and metaphysics): Two things that work the same way or produce the same results, even if they're different in other ways.
functioning(Capability approach; individual functionings are the components that combine into capability sets): A doing or being that a person can engage in, such as holding a job or caring for children, which reflects a basic need or moral duty.
idealization(Pragmatist response to the quantum mechanics / molecular shape paradox): A pragmatic simplification — such as treating an open system as closed — that is useful for practical purposes but does not accurately represent physical reality.

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