usable

or use·a·ble

[yoo-zuh-buh l]

See more synonyms for usable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

available or convenient for use: 2000 square feet of usable office space.
capable of being used: That saw is no longer usable.

Origin of usable

1350–1400; Middle English < Middle French; see use, -able

Related formsus·a·bil·i·ty, us·a·ble·ness, nounuse·a·bil·i·ty, use·a·ble·ness, nounus·a·bly, use·a·bly, adverbnon·re·us·a·ble, non·re·use·a·ble, adjective, nounnon·us·a·ble, non·use·a·ble, adjectivere·us·a·bil·i·ty, re·use·a·bil·i·ty, nounre·us·a·ble, re·use·a·ble, adjectivere·us·a·ble·ness, re·use·a·ble·ness, nounun·us·a·ble, un·use·a·ble, adjectiveun·us·a·ble·ness, un·use·a·ble·ness, nounun·us·a·bly, un·use·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for unusable

worthless, impractical, unavailable, expendable, inoperative, unworkable, meaningless, unprofitable, idle, ineffective, futile, unproductive, pointless, unattainable, useless, inoperable, abortive, bootless, disadvantageous, dysfunctional

Examples from the Web for unusable

Contemporary Examples of unusable

New Jersey Transit has also been affected, with major stations and termini along the coast flooded and unusable.
How Long Until New York Gets Back Up and Running?
Megan McArdle
October 30, 2012

Historical Examples of unusable

She is ballasted with utilities; not altogether with unusable pig-lead and kentledge.
Moby Dick; or The Whale
Herman Melville
The second part of this definition is, of course, unusable for beginners.
The Teaching of Geometry
David Eugene Smith
One can hardly say that any combination of notes is unusable.
Symphonies and Their Meaning; Third Series, Modern Symphonies
Philip H. Goepp
There is so little chance to wash towels that they soon get unusable.
A Yankee in the Trenches
R. Derby Holmes
And there it all lies now—unused and unusable for ever—of no earthly service to any one—just like the ruins left by a fire.
The Master Builder
Henrik Ibsen

British Dictionary definitions for unusable

unusable

adjective

not able or fit to be used

usable

useable

adjective

able to be used

Derived Formsusability, useability, usableness or useableness, nounusably or useably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for unusable

adj.

1825, from un- (1) "not" + usable.

usable

adj.

late 14c., from Old French usable (early 14c.), from user (see use). Not a common word before c.1840. Related: Usably.