Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He died at Stabiae, a few miles south of Pompeii, gazing over a sea rendered unnavigable by pumice and strong opposing winds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

There were many reasons why roads were unnavigable that day.

From BBC • Nov. 10, 2023

Water levels in the region’s major rivers have become so low as to be unnavigable, leaving many Indigenous river communities without any way to obtain certain foods, drinking water, or medicine, according to Reuters.

From Salon • Oct. 18, 2023

In their brief, they take issue with the Justice Department’s claim that the river is still legally “navigable,” noting that at certain points it becomes unnavigable because of changing depths, currents, dams, or other factors.

From Slate • Aug. 11, 2023

In summer the road here would have been sketchy but pass-able; now it was made unnavigable by a foot and a half of mushy spring snow.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer