How to Use inoperable in a Sentence

inoperable

adjective

• 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 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
• The Broward County Sheriff’s Department did not want to take the unloaded, inoperable firearm back to the jury room at that time.
  — Dakin Andone, CNN, 13 Oct. 2022
• The shelter’s fire alarm system was inoperable; the heat cut off in the winter; and the family daily battled mice and roaches.
  — New York Times, 30 Sep. 2021
• Inside the vehicle, the front air conditioner no longer blows cold air and the power windows are inoperable.
  — Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 6 Aug. 2024

Last Updated: 12 Nov 2024