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inoperable

inoperable

14 7.3
Doctors cannot safely remove it by surgery
  • adjective
  • /ɪˈnɒpərəbəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : inoperable
  • Pancho Lane had brought her sister to Selene back when the teenager had been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.
  • an inoperable tumor

And Lombold, they've got a a huge malignant, inoperable or incurable brain tumor.

Examples

  • I have an inoperable brain tumor.

    Guarding Tess (1994)

  • Tanabe is suffering from an inoperable cancer tumor in his liver.

    Blog text (7)

  • -Bill has an inoperable brain tumor.

    Grace and Grit (2021)

  • I'm afraid the condition is totally inoperable.

    Men of Honor (2000)

  • The type of cancer you have is malignant and inoperable.

    Saw VI (2009)

  • She has an inoperable brain tumor.

    Guarding Tess (1994)

  • I'm afraid the aneurysm is so large it's inoperable.

    Veronika Decides to Die (2009)

  • Paul, a 73-year-old retired architect, was diagnosed in February with inoperable lung cancer.

    Blog text (1)

  • The tumor is inoperable.

    S1m0ne (2002)

  • The doctors explained to him that his condition was inoperable and required alternative treatments.

Antonyms

operable
  • Specialized
2 5.6

Doctors can treat or remove the disease with surgery

How Operable

operable
  • Specialized
2 5.6
inoperable
  • Specialized
14 7.3

Surface Forms

inoperable positive

Morphology

inoperable = operable (semi-transparent) = in + oper + able

The prefix 'in-' straightforwardly negates 'operable' in the medical sense.

Etymology

Inoperable comes from the parts in- meaning 'not' and operable, from the same root as operate and operation, which can mean a 'surgical operation'. So in medicine inoperable means a condition or tumour that cannot be treated by surgery.