unable
/ʌnˈeɪbl̩/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.61 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
Indicating that a requested course of action is not possible to carry out.
Example Sentences
- "Are you unable to mind your own business or something?"
- "Fulham switched off as Giggs took a quick corner to Valencia. He played it back to Giggs, whose cross was headed in by Nani with the lurking Rooney unable to add a touch."
- "Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […]. Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […] But the scandals kept coming, […]. A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul."
- "The train operating company owning group warned in early December that it was unable to publish its results for the year to July 3 2021, following an investigation into the running of Southeastern, which was stripped of its franchise in October [...]."
- ""November three seven kilo, climb and maintain twelve thousand." "Unable, we have pressurization problems. Maintaining nine thousand.""
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
Inflected Forms
unabler (comparative)
more unable (comparative)
unablest (superlative)
most unable (superlative)
unables (present, singular)
unabling (participle, present)
unabled (participle, past)
unabled (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
be unable to believe one's eyes
unable to can