immobile

adjective

im·​mo·​bile (ˌ)i(m)-ˈmō-bəl How to pronounce immobile (audio)
-ˌbī(-ə)l,
 also  -ˌbēl
1
: not moving : motionless
keep the patient immobile
2
: incapable of being moved : fixed
immobility noun

Examples of immobile in a Sentence

The tranquilizer made the animal immobile. The accident left her immobile.
Recent Examples on the Web City officials and residents opposed the cars being given a license for 24/7 operation last year, with some residents rendering them immobile by putting orange cones on the cars’ hoods in protest. Wes Davis, The Verge, 11 Feb. 2024 The Niners’ defensive line started to get pressure on Goff in the second half, moving the immobile quarterback around in the pocket. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 28 Jan. 2024 An oyster, immobile and nearly brainless, is hardly even an animal, despite what the taxonomists tell us. Peter Rubin, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024 Arriving on the scene, emergency workers saw that the female canine was stuck about 30 feet into the drain and immobile. EAMTs worked for three hours to free the dog, now named Bunny. Esme Mazzeo, Peoplemag, 22 Jan. 2024 Macon County also had high poverty rates and low education rates, ensuring the experiment’s subjects would be both immobile and malleable. Caitjan Gainty, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Jan. 2024 At the Dallas Opera, Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer’s adaptation of the memoir by Jean-Dominique Bauby movingly depicts the writer’s experience of being left speechless and almost entirely immobile by a stroke. Heidi Waleson, WSJ, 6 Nov. 2023 The procedure included a process called arthrodesis, which makes the area permanently immobile but eliminates any chance of rigorous riding. John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023 Like that of hibernating bears, the blood of chronically immobile patients had fewer circulating HSP47 proteins. Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 13 Apr. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immobile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English in-mobill, from Latin immobilis, from in- + mobilis mobile

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of immobile was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near immobile

Cite this Entry

“Immobile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immobile. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

immobile

adjective
im·​mo·​bile (ˈ)im-ˈ(m)ō-bəl How to pronounce immobile (audio)
-ˌbēl,
-ˌbīl
: unable to move or be moved
immobility noun

Medical Definition

immobile

adjective
1
: incapable of being moved
2
: not moving
keep the patient immobile
immobility noun
plural immobilities

More from Merriam-Webster on immobile

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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