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Definition of "unable" []

  • Lacking the necessary power, authority, or means; not able; incapable: unable to get to town without a car. (adjective)
  • Lacking mental or physical capability or efficiency; incompetent: unable to walk. (adjective)
  • Usage Problem Not susceptible to action or treatment: a project unable to be financed with government funds. See Usage Note at able. (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.

Use "unable" in a sentence
  • "How it can be argued that the Met (or IPCC) did nothing Nicola FISHER, to get specific about just ONE example, when the sergeants who struck her was suspended and criminally prosecuted, I remain unable to explain."
  • "I graduated early and spent the next two years as a shut-in unable to go outside without feeling as if people only saw the color of my skin."
  • "Very often the way the twins are joined is terribly difficult: at the top of the head, sharing organs, or with one twin unable to function because of their relationship to the other child."