unoperableadj.
/(ˌ)ʌnˈɒp(ə)rəbl/, U.S. /ˌənˈɑp(ə)rəbəl/ rare before late 19th cent.
Not operable. Chiefly in medical contexts. Cf. inoperable adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > practical impossibility > [adjective]
impossible1340
unfeasible1527
infeasible1533
unablec1540
unperformable1583
unpracticeable1588
unfeasable1628
uneffectible1646
unpracticable1650
unoperable1652
unaccomplishable1675
imprestable1683
imperformable1693
impracticable1696
unexecutable1794
ineffectible1806
inexecutable1833
unworkable1839
impractical1865
undoable1865
impos.1924
1652 E. Ashmole Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum Prolegomena sig. B2 They, wrought unoperable Workes.
1887 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 17 Mar. 256/1 Twenty operations for the removal of wide-spreading cancer of the mouth and pharynx, in addition to eighteen unoperable cases.
1917 National Humane Rev. Dec. 223/3 The legislators have fought shy of cat license laws as unoperable and cruel.
2007 C. B. Carter & M. G. Norton Ceramic Materials xxvi. 479/1 Radiotherapy glasses used in the treatment of unoperable cancers.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1652