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View synonyms for unable

unable

[ uhn-ey-buhl ]

adjective

  1. lacking the necessary power, competence, etc., to accomplish some specified act:

    He was unable to swim.



unable

/ ʌnˈeɪbəl /

adjective

  1. postpositivefoll byto lacking the necessary power, ability, or authority (to do something); not able
  2. archaic.
    incompetent
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of unable1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; un- 1 + able
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Early last year, health officials did not urge their use because of concerns health workers would be unable to get them.

Meanwhile, athletes are left to wait, unable to compete and their ability to hold formal practices or access training facilities varying by school.

The Somali and Oromo callers were also unable to listen to the meeting, since it wasn’t translated for them.

I feared she’d been drenched and unable to withstand the chill.

Because if we don’t — if we don’t, then conservatives all across this country will be unable to speak, they’ll be unable to do business, they’ll be unable to be heard.

That man was Xavier Cortada, a gay man who wrote of his frustration that he and his partner of eight years were unable to marry.

Those opposing same-sex marriage are on their heels, and increasingly unwilling or unable to make a stand against it.

But at this stage, he is either afraid or unable to get carried away by his thoughts.

Lee would stay up late, unable to sleep from the pains he had in his back.

In the name of protecting passengers, however, tourists in Las Vegas are unable to take advantage of this service.

As men fixed in the grip of nightmare, we were powerless—unable to do anything but wait.

Your sacrifice shall be the agony of agonies, the death of deaths, and yet you'll find yourself unable to resist.

The exertions of the city authorities, who had notice of the meditated riot, were unable to prevent or quell it.

We stood staring after the fugitives in perfect bewilderment, totally unable to explain their apparently causeless panic.

The young woman was unable to answer; she pressed the hand of the pianist convulsively.

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