Unable example sentences
Related (12): incapable, powerless, helpless, unfit, incompetent, capability, ability, capacity, possible, feasible, capable, competent
"Unable" Example Sentences
Common Phrases
- unable to help
- unable to attend
- unable to afford
- unable to resist
- unable to understand
- unable to speak
- unable to find
- unable to control
- unable to continue
- unable to reach
- unable to work
- unable to leave
Examples by Level
A1
- I am unable to swim.
- He was unable to find his keys this morning.
- She felt unable to speak English at first.
A2
- My brother was unable to come to the party because he had to work.
- The old man seemed unable to hear what we were saying.
- I was unable to sleep last night because of the noise outside.
B1
- Looking back, I realize I was unable to see how unhappy she really was.
- The company found itself unable to compete once the new technology arrived.
- He's been unable to let go of that grudge, and it's eating him alive.
B2
- She remained unable to articulate why the ending felt so wrong, though something in it disturbed her.
- The government proved unable to respond quickly enough, and by then the damage was irreversible.
- What struck me most was how he seemed unable to recognize himself in the mirror anymore.
C1
- The institution's inability to adapt—or perhaps its unwillingness, for it was never truly unable to change—sealed its decline.
- There exists a peculiar tragedy in being unable to warn people about futures you've already lived through.
- The protagonist's refusal to acknowledge what he was unable to control became the novel's central tension.
C2
- What haunted him wasn't the failure itself, but the creeping realization that he'd been unable to see it coming—that blindness, not incompetence, had been his real undoing.
- She'd spent years unable to articulate the precise nature of her dissatisfaction, until one morning it simply crystallized.
- The paradox of power lies in being simultaneously unable to admit vulnerability and incapable of functioning without it.
Examples by Scenario
🏠 Everyday Life
- I was unable to find a parking spot for thirty minutes, so I just went home.
- My kid was unable to tie his shoes this morning and we were already late.
- The WiFi's been down all day and I've been unable to do anything productive.
💼 Workplace
- I was unable to attend the meeting because my car broke down on the way in.
- Our team was unable to meet the deadline, so we had to push it back two weeks.
- The client was unable to make a decision, which meant we just sat there waiting.
📊 Business
- The startup was unable to secure funding in the second round and had to pivot entirely.
- We found ourselves unable to scale production fast enough to meet demand.
- The merger fell through because neither party was unable to agree on valuation.
🛒 Buying / Shopping
- I was unable to find my size in the store, so I ordered it online instead.
- The cashier was unable to process my coupon for some reason.
- I was unable to decide between the two jackets, so I bought them both.
✈️ Travel
- We were unable to get flights during the holiday, so we drove instead.
- The hotel was unable to give us a room with a view like we'd requested.
- I was unable to sleep on the plane, which made the whole trip exhausting.
📚 Education
- The student was unable to complete the assignment because she didn't understand the instructions.
- My son is unable to focus in class when there's too much noise around him.
- The teacher was unable to explain the concept in a way that made sense to most of the class.
❤️ Relationships
- He was unable to say he was sorry, and that silence broke something between us.
- I've been unable to forgive her for what she said, even though I want to.
- We were unable to make it work, no matter how hard we both tried.
📰 News / Politics
- The government was unable to prevent the economic downturn despite warnings from experts.
- The senator was unable to explain the discrepancies in his campaign finances.
- Officials remained unable to contain the spread of misinformation during the election.
💻 Technology
- The app was unable to sync my data across devices, which defeated the whole purpose.
- I was unable to install the software because my computer is too old.
- The AI model was unable to recognize faces in low light, which is a major limitation.
📝 Formal Writing
- The research team was unable to replicate the original findings in subsequent trials.
- The proposed legislation was unable to gain sufficient support in committee.
- The system proved unable to handle the volume of requests during peak hours.