1
[ adjective ] (usually followed by `to') not having the necessary means or skill or know-how

Synonyms

not_able

Examples

"unable to get to town without a car" "unable to obtain funds"

Used in print

(The New York Times,...)

When he was unable to bring_about immediate expansion , he sought to convince another National_League club to move here .

(William G. Pollard, Physicist and Christian....)

In our disbelief we think that we can no_longer even use the word and so are unable to even name the elemental power which is so vividly real in_this play .

(Nathan Rapport, ""I've Been Here before!"...)

However , readers who accept Freud 's findings and believe that he has solved completely the mystery of dreams , should ponder over the following words in his Interpretation_Of_Dreams , Chapter 1 , : `` as_a_matter_of_fact no such complete solution of the dream has ever been accomplished in_any_case , and what_is_more , every one attempting such solution has found that in most cases there have remained a great many components of the dream the source of which he has been unable to explain , nor is the discussion closed on the subject of the mantic or prophetic power of dreams '' .

(Handbook of Federal Aids to Communities. U.S. Dep...)

This help is offered to applicants who ordinarily would not undertake the exploration under present conditions or circumstances at their sole expense and who are unable to obtain funds from commercial sources on reasonable terms .

(James A. Ibers et al., "Proton magnetic resonance...)

There is , then , the possibility that this **f bond is symmetric , although Douglass was unable to determine its symmetry from his x-ray data .

Related terms

able ability

2
[ adjective ] (usually followed by `to') lacking necessary physical or mental ability

Examples

"dyslexics are unable to learn to read adequately" "the sun was unable to melt enough snow"

Used in print

(William S. Haymond, "Is Distance an Original...)

Psychical blindness is a condition in which there is a total absence of visual memory-images , a condition in which , for_example , one is unable to remember something just seen or to conjure_up a memory-picture of the visible appearance of a well-known friend in his absence .

(Stephen Longstreet, Eagles Where I Walk....)

Now , driving the horse and sulky borrowed from Mynheer_Schuyler , he felt as if every bone was topped by burning oil and that every muscle was ready to dissolve into jelly and leave his big body helpless and unable to move .

Related terms

incapable

3
[ adjective ] lacking in power or forcefulness

Examples

"an ineffectual ruler" "like an unable phoenix in hot ashes"

Related terms

impotent

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