as in unfit
lacking qualities (as knowledge, skill, or ability) required to do a job
a celebrated author of serious plays, he turned out to be a particularly unable writer of comedies
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Recent Examples of unable
Due to the condition of her remains, investigators were unable to determine her hair or eye color.
—
City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
For decades, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program users have typically been unable to purchase hot foods.
—Terell Bailey, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
For months, with early site preparation work underway on the Far South Side, the transit agency was unable to access federal reimbursements to pay for that work.
—Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Despite the recovery of a body, authorities were unable to determine the identity of the victim or a potential suspect.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unable
City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
For decades, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program users have typically been unable to purchase hot foods.
—Terell Bailey, CBS News, 24 Apr. 2026
For months, with early site preparation work underway on the Far South Side, the transit agency was unable to access federal reimbursements to pay for that work.
—Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Despite the recovery of a body, authorities were unable to determine the identity of the victim or a potential suspect.
—Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unable
Adjective
-
Trump—fixated on securing his legacy with a ballroom and a triumphal arch—appears increasingly erratic, unfocused, and unfit for the job assigned to him.—
John Whitehead,
Oc Register,
23 Apr. 2026
-
If venue personnel deem any person to be a threat, or otherwise unfit, in their sole discretion, he or she will not be permitted access and shall forfeit the prize.—
AJC.com,
AJC.com,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Mix Materials The beauty in the unfitted kitchen aesthetic is found in its collected look.—
Patricia Shannon,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 May 2025
-
The venerable American clan at the center of the narrator’s reminiscences are wholly unfitted to the modern world and no longer endowed with the fortune that one of them brought home long ago on clipper ships.—
Daniel Akst,
WSJ,
2 Sep. 2022
Adjective
-
Maybe Dan’s buddy Henry (Jake Curran) is even more incompetent than previously hinted at, in terms of aiding and abetting a homicide.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Sports franchises everywhere can be tacky, rapacious, incompetent, extortionate, and otherwise exploitative, but only because their customers, the fans, are essentially captives.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
23 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Also, if 10 years pass since someone was deemed incapable to proceed in a felony case, the charges have to be dismissed.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Without political capital, leadership is irrelevant, because such a person is incapable of being a leader.—
Jim Nowlan,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Unable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unable. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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