Unable

//ʌnˈeɪbl̩// adj, intj, verb

adj, intj, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To render unable; to disable. nonstandard, transitive
Adjective
  1. 1
    Not able; lacking a certain ability.

    "Are you unable to mind your own business or something?"

Adjective
  1. 1
    (usually followed by ‘to’) not having the necessary means or skill or know-how wordnet
  2. 2
    (usually followed by ‘to’) lacking necessary physical or mental ability wordnet
  3. 3
    lacking in power or forcefulness wordnet
Intj
  1. 1
    Indicating that a requested course of action is not possible to carry out.

    ""November three seven kilo, climb and maintain twelve thousand." "Unable, we have pressurization problems. Maintaining nine thousand.""

Synonyms

All synonyms
incapableineffectivebadcrippledisabledisable

Example

More examples

"I tried to reach you on the phone, but I was unable to get through."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English unable, unabel, unhable, unhabil, equivalent to un- + able.

Etymology 2

From Middle English unablen, equivalent to un- + able.

Related phrases

be unable to believe one's eyesunable to canbe unable to

More for "unable"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.