unusable

adjective

un·​us·​able ˌən-ˈyü-zə-bəl How to pronounce unusable (audio)
: not capable of being used or fit for use : not usable
unusable documentary footage
The lavatory, totally unusable, was full of snow which had blasted in through the keyhole.Katharine Sim
unusably adverb

Examples of unusable in a Sentence

a completely unusable gadget that's just taking up space in the drawer
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On some days areas of the park were unusable for families. Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025 Inspectors said the employee restroom was unusable. Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 3 July 2025 Due to a lack of air conditioning and the overwhelming smell of the sitting urine in the showers, the bunks were more or less unusable, meaning the majority of the Triumph's 4,000 passengers were forced to lug their mattresses onto the deck of the ship and sleep outside. Randall Colburn, EW.com, 25 June 2025 Musk was responding to a technical problem that rendered X unusable for thousands of users across the world, with over 25,000 error reports flagged by social media watchdog DownDetector. Theo Burman, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for unusable

Word History

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unusable was in 1825

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Unusable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unusable. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on unusable

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!