Definition of "inoperable" [inoperable]

• Not functioning; inoperative. (adjective)
• Unsuitable for a surgical procedure: an inoperable tumor. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "But Allison Frey, whose aggressive form of thyroid cancer spread to her liver in inoperable patches, says that approach has made her cancer an illness she can manage much like a diabetic manages insulin."
• "When something is called inoperable, basically that means that performing an operation will actually cause more harm than good."
• "Some of the discussion will revolve around the definition of "inoperable" used in PARTNER B and the use of "standard" therapy in these patients."
• "Some of the discussion will revolve around the definition of "inoperable" used in PARTNER B and the use of "standard" therapy in these patients."
• "Yet two mind-numbing revelations make that word inoperable: 1. the scientists at East Anglia University have admitted they threw away most of the raw temperature data on which their conclusions about global warming are based; 2. the BBC has admitted they were aware of this story over a month ago and refused to report it."