not having the skill, strength, time, knowledge, etc. to do sth
He lay there, unable to move.
他躺在那里动弹不得。
I tried to contact him but was unable to.
我试着跟他联系，却没联系上。
1.不能,不会;〈罕,诗〉弱,无力的
1.not able to do something
1.There will be problems at all levels of difficulty, so no student should be unable to solve close to six problems each week.
作业会有不同难度的问题，所以应该所有学生均可在每星期解决接近六条问题。
2.At the time I was drunk on lack of sleep and unable to make a coherent reply to that - hence the reason I'm writing this article.
当时我失眠又醉酒，没法给出个像样的答案，这也是我为什么会写这篇文章的理由。
3.She felt sluggish, bloated, and unable to run at an intense pace--except when a Port-a-Potty came into view.
她感到乏力，臃肿，无法跑出高强度配速---除非看到洗手间。
4.The police did not distract him, so were unable to exploit the "crucial element of surprise" .
警方并没有分散他的注意力，因而也无法采取“出奇不意的致命一击”。
5.She was ill, so that she was unable to go with you.
她病了，因此不能和你们一起去了。
6.The bank lends small amounts of money to poor people, especially women, who are unable to get traditional loans.
这个银行把较小数量的钱借给那些无法取得传统正常贷款的穷人，尤其是妇女。
7.Chandler tries to save face and makes the 'OK' sign with his hands, while obviously unable to breathe.
钱德勒想保持正常表情，做了个“没事”的手势，但很明显已不能呼吸。
8.mesh selection Fish above a certain size are unable to pass through a net of a certain mesh size while smaller fish can escape.
网目选择在一个特定的大小上面的鱼不能够经过某网孔大小的网，但较小的鱼能逃脱。
9.Elizabeth was trying so hard not to laugh at the idea of Mr Collins being carried away by his feelings that she was unable to reply.
听到柯林斯先生所谓的被感情冲昏头脑，伊丽莎白使劲地憋住才没有笑出声来，以至于未能答出话来。
10."Your fee's on top of the dresser, " I said, unable to think of anything else to say.
“你的酬金在化妆台上，”我说，想不起还能说什么。