1
as in malfunctioning
not being in working order
we have several inoperable cars on the property
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2
as in useless
not capable of being put to use or account
a delightfully creative but inoperable plan for building a theme park in the area
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Recent Examples of inoperable
However, in January 2025, TIGTA visited eight TACs with inoperable kiosks and found the machines were still not working.
—
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The swim began July 26 at the spot in the water where the freighter’s journey ended, 17 miles northwest of the Whitefish Point lighthouse, which in fatal happenstance was inoperable the night of the ship’s sinking.
—John Carlisle, Freep.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then, last year, my dude-friend died at 43 from Stage 4 Colorectal cancer—his family ordered wings at Hooters after his funeral—and at the end of May, my girl-dude friend was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable cervical cancer at age 41.
—Jay Deitcher, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inoperable
Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2025
More importantly, if just one lock were disabled or destroyed, the passage from east to west would be essentially inoperable, crippling the United States and its military defenses.
—Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
The swim began July 26 at the spot in the water where the freighter’s journey ended, 17 miles northwest of the Whitefish Point lighthouse, which in fatal happenstance was inoperable the night of the ship’s sinking.
—John Carlisle, Freep.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Then, last year, my dude-friend died at 43 from Stage 4 Colorectal cancer—his family ordered wings at Hooters after his funeral—and at the end of May, my girl-dude friend was diagnosed with stage 4 inoperable cervical cancer at age 41.
—Jay Deitcher, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inoperable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoperable
Adjective
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Another set piece involving a malfunctioning chair lift is excruciatingly tense.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Digital fingerprinting collates an array of data from your phone — your IP address, device model and OS, time zone, setup and anything else if can get — to create a unique identifier in aggregate, even if each individual data snippet us useless on its own.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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Never mind that large language models have so far proven useless at 95% of the companies that have made their workforces try to use them, researchers from MIT recently found.—
Allison Morrow,
CNN Money,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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In my experience, redeeming a broken industry requires regaining consumer trust by delivering empathy, transparency, and a process that works for clients, especially in a space that has historically worked against the interests of consumers.—
Brandon Aversano,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Across the eastern Baltic states (an area pertaining to modern-day Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), there are even more examples of broken tools in Stone Age burials.—
Sarah Durn,
Popular Science,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But, because mange often accompanies secondary infections and nutritional imbalances, treatment in the wild is impractical, making the work at Walden's Puddle and other rehabilitation facilities all the more important, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Communications Manager Jason Harmon said.—
Katie Nixon,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Sep. 2025
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The internet faced ridicule for its impractical nature during its initial development phase.—
Sadhasivam Mohanadas,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Williams and the Bears began to stall completely on securing crucial third down conversions.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 Sep. 2025
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The violent up and down cycles were strong enough to disengage the plane’s autopilot system and cause minor damage to the plane’s interior as everything that wasn’t strapped down went flying.—
Alexandra Skores,
CNN Money,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The website is almost unusable.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
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The process requires hundreds of delicate manual steps, and any contamination renders a dose unusable.—
Jennifer Kite-Powell,
Forbes.com,
31 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The systems could have electrical compressor failure, which can cause the defroster or defogger to be inoperative, increasing the risk of a crash, the recall notice said.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
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Also inoperative the morning of the crash were the runway alignment indicator lights, which had not worked for more than three years.—
Karen Kucher,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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The concern expressed is that people are turning to AI for mental health advice and do not realize that (presumably) AI is unsuitable for that purpose.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
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The drastic drop in performance from the 2022 season points to the idea that the current generation of cars is unsuitable for the Briton.—
Saajan Jogia,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoperable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoperable. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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