How to Use inoperable in a Sentence

inoperable

adjective
Definition of inoperablenext
Synonyms for inoperablenext
  • The device makes the car inoperable when a key is not used to start it.
  • In the air for the first leg of the flight, Mock discovered that her long-range radio was inoperable.
    — Lucia Cheng, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Police learned that the man’s brakes were inoperable by the time police pulled him over.
    — Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, 25 Aug. 2020
  • The green pump jack stood inoperable on a recent visit to the farm, rust eating through the metal.
    — Mark Olalde, ProPublica, 6 Aug. 2024
  • Due to a malfunction, the scoreboard was inoperable throughout the game, and the time was kept on the field by game officials.
    — Mike Gegenheimer | Contributing Writer, NOLA.com, 14 Nov. 2020
  • All five of the business’ shrimp boats were rendered inoperable by damage from the storm.
    — New York Times, 1 Feb. 2022
  • The boat was inoperable, and one of the men had to get to his job working on refrigeration trucks back in New Caney the next morning.
    — Abigail Hauslohner, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2017
  • The Lorain man said the strut snapped, making the Chevrolet Avalanche inoperable.
    — John Benson, cleveland.com, 22 Feb. 2018
  • The mother of two sons, ages 12 and 9, was forced to leave her job in July when her husband was told he had inoperable cancer.
    — Christopher Tangney, BostonGlobe.com, 10 Dec. 2019
  • Bronin had noted in a letter to the council that more than half of the department’s stun guns were inoperable.
    — Jenna Carlesso, Courant Community, 29 June 2018
  • Despite the fact the set was revealed to have been inoperable even before Sale ripped it off the WooSox tunnel wall and destroyed it in a fit of anger, the 33-year-old pro made amends.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2022
  • The child was found in an inoperable freezer in a Detroit home in June 2022, according to court records.
    — Darcie Moran, Detroit Free Press, 17 July 2024
  • But those who paid for and still use their Car Thing are annoyed the device will become inoperable.
    — Emily Price, PCMAG, 25 May 2024
  • The 6-year-old boy had been fighting an inoperable brain tumor for 10 months.
    — Liz Szabo, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2022
  • Hundreds more live in RVs, some of which are inoperable.
    — Sarah Ravani, SFChronicle.com, 15 Feb. 2020
  • Countless inoperable kiosks remain in front of 7-Eleven stores to this day.
    — Janko Roettgers, The Verge, 5 July 2024
  • It was meant to be part of a pair with Longjiang-1, but its sibling malfunctioned and became inoperable.
    — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 6 Feb. 2019
  • Two other C-130s in the fleet had already been deemed inoperable and were grounded.
    — Jenny Jarvie, latimes.com, 3 May 2018
  • That might render an A.T.M. card inoperable for a few days.
    — Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Michelle’s mother Robin Math said last week that her daughter went to the doctor the week prior with a headache and back pain, which later caused brain swelling that was inoperable.
    — Alexandra Kukulka, chicagotribune.com, 15 May 2018
  • But he couldn’t get carted off because the Steelers’ medical cart was inoperable and had to be pushed off the field by a half dozen workers.
    — Arnie Stapleton, The Denver Post, 8 Oct. 2019
  • One nurse was killed; a whole wing was rendered inoperable.
    — Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2022
  • Loop said the cars that remain on the property are not registered and are inoperable, Fox said.
    — Justin Sayers, The Courier-Journal, 3 Jan. 2018
  • Four were in drawers and inoperable, one was on the ceiling but did not have a battery, and another was on the floor of a bedroom without a battery.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 11 Jan. 2022
  • But the hackers' real goal was to delete the data and render the state computers inoperable.
    — Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 27 June 2024
  • After that, the belt moved but the screen still froze and is inoperable, despite several hard resets.
    — Christopher Elliott, King Features Syndicate, The Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2019
  • That’s the day the Encinitas teenager was diagnosed with a rare, deadly and inoperable form of brain cancer.
    — Pam Kragen, sandiegouniontribune.com, 17 Jan. 2018
  • Firearms on display at the event are inoperable and none are actually sold at it.
    — Lisa Marie Pane, USA TODAY, 20 Jan. 2020
  • Fans have long complained about an air conditioning system that often leaves the ballpark feeling toasty during the hottest days of summer, and that its signature retractable roof has at times been inoperable.
    — Sasha Hupka, The Arizona Republic, 21 Sep. 2024
  • In August, Ballerini shared news that Dibs was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer.
    — Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 9 Sep. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inoperable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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