ἀδύνατος
adynatos
unable
Appears 1,052 times across Aristotle's works.
Frequency by work
Click a work to list every occurrence by Bekker number — each links into the reader.
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Metaphysics 173 ▸
Open Metaphysics ›Book Α 8 ▸
Book Β 19 ▸
Book Γ 23 ▸
Chapter 5 1009a6–1011a2Chapter 7 1011b23–1012a28Book Δ 11 ▸
Book Ε 1 ▸
Chapter 2 1026a33–1027a28Book Ζ 16 ▸
Book Η 1 ▸
Chapter 3 1043a29–1044a14Book Θ 28 ▸
Chapter 5 1047b31–1048a24Chapter 8 1049b4–1051a3Book Ι 5 ▸
Book Κ 18 ▸
Book Λ 6 ▸
Book Μ 24 ▸
Chapter 6 1080a12–1080b36 -
Physics 139 ▸
Open Physics ›Book I 17 ▸
Book III 20 ▸
Book IV 23 ▸
Chapter 1 208a27–209a30Book V 4 ▸
Book VI 26 ▸
Chapter 2 232a23–233b32Chapter 3 233b33–234b9Chapter 4 234b10–235b5Chapter 5 235b6–236b18Chapter 8 238b23–239b4Chapter 9 239b5–240b7Book VII 9 ▸
Book VIII 38 ▸
Chapter 4 254b7–256a3Chapter 6 258b10–260a19 -
Prior Analytics 131 ▸
Open Prior Analytics ›Book I 73 ▸
Chapter 4 25b26–26b33Chapter 9 30a15–30b6Chapter 14 32b38–33b24Chapter 15 33b25–35b22Chapter 21 39b7–40a3Chapter 25 41b36–42b26Chapter 27 43a20–43b38Chapter 45 50b5–51b4Book II 58 ▸
Chapter 15 63b22–64b27Chapter 16 64b28–65a37Chapter 17 65a38–66a15Chapter 20 66b4–17Chapter 21 66b18–67b26 -
On the Heavens 131 ▸
Open On the Heavens ›Book I 88 ▸
Book II 14 ▸
Book III 25 ▸
Chapter 4 302b10–303b8Chapter 5 303b9–304b22 -
Posterior Analytics 49 ▸
Open Posterior Analytics ›Book I 41 ▸
Chapter 2 71b9–72b4Chapter 4 73a21–74a3Chapter 6 74b5–75a37Chapter 7 75a38–75b20Chapter 11 77a5–35Chapter 12 77a36–78a21Chapter 17 80b17–81a37Chapter 19 81b10–82a20Chapter 23 84b3–85a12 -
Politics 45 ▸
Open Politics ›Book I 1 ▸
Chapter 4 1253b23–1254a16Book II 10 ▸
Book III 9 ▸
Book IV 8 ▸
Book V 3 ▸
Book VII 9 ▸
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Generation of Animals 41 ▸
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On Generation and Corruption 39 ▸
Open On Generation and Corruption ›Book I 26 ▸
Chapter 3 317a32–319b5Chapter 7 323b1–324b24Chapter 9 326b29–327a29 -
De Interpretatione 39 ▸
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Rhetoric 33 ▸
Open Rhetoric ›Book I 13 ▸
Chapter 2 1355b25–1358a35Chapter 11 1369b33–1372a3Chapter 12 1372a4–1373a38Chapter 14 1374b24–1375a21Book II 18 ▸
Chapter 1 1378a16–29Chapter 3 1380a10–1380b34Chapter 5 1382a20–1383b10Chapter 9 1386b8–1387b21Chapter 11 1388a31–1388b30Chapter 17 1391a20–1391b6Chapter 18 1391b7–1392a7Chapter 22 1395b21–1397a6Chapter 23 1397a7–1400b33 -
Topics 31 ▸
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De Anima 29 ▸
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Meteorology 28 ▸
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Parts of Animals 21 ▸
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Eudemian Ethics 12 ▸
Open Eudemian Ethics ›Book I 1 ▸
Chapter 4 1215a20–1215b14Book II 6 ▸
Book III 1 ▸
Chapter 2 1230a34–1231b4Book VII 3 ▸
Book VIII 1 ▸
Chapter 1 1246a26–1246b36 -
Nicomachean Ethics 12 ▸
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Sophistical Refutations 12 ▸
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On Length and Shortness of Life 4 ▸
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Mechanica 4 ▸
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Progression of Animals 3 ▸
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Oeconomica 3 ▸
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De Audibilibus 1 ▸
Open De Audibilibus ›Chapter 1 800a1–804b39 -
De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus 1 ▸
Open De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus ›Chapter 142 845a10–14 -
De Virtutibus et Vitiis 1 ▸
Open De Virtutibus et Vitiis ›Chapter 3 1250a5–32
Dictionary (LSJ)
ἀδύνατος, ον, I. of persons, unable to do a thing, c. inf., Hdt. 3.138, Epich. 272, E. HF 56, etc.; ἀ. εἰπεῖν Arist. Rh. 1379a2; ἀ. ὥστε . . Onos. 1.13: Comp., τὸν δυνατώτερον τοῦ -ωτέρου [πλέον ἔχειν] Pl. Grg. 483d: Sup. -ώτατος, λέγειν Eup. 95. 2. abs., without strength, powerless, weakly, Hdt. 5.9, E. Ion 596, Andr. 746; οἱ ἀ. men disabled for service, whether as invalids or paupers, Lys. 24 tit., Arist. Ath. 49.4; ἐν τοῖς ἀ. μισθοφορεῖν Aeschin. 1.103; ἀ. σώματι Lys. 2.73; ἀ. χρήμασι poor, Th. 7.28; εἴς τι Pl. Hp.Mi. 366b; οἱ -ώτατοι persons of no importance, Phld. Herc. 1457.8; of ships, disabled, Hdt. 6.16; τὸ ἀ. want of strength, Pl. Hp.Ma. 296a; τὰ ἀ. disabilities, D. 18.108. II. of things, impossible, E. Or. 665, Hel. 1043; ἐλπίδες unrealizable, Democr. 58; τὸ ἀ. Arist. Cael. 280b12; ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀ. ἀπαγωγή reductio ad impossibile, APr. 29b5; ὁ διὰ τοῦ ἀ. συλλογισμός, ἡ διὰ τοῦ ἀ. δεῖξις, ib.34b30, 45a35; ἀδύνατα βούλομαι Lync. 1.12:—ἀδύνατόν [ἐστι] c. inf., Hdt. 1.32, al.; ἀδύνατά [ἐστι] Pi. P. 2.81, Hdt. 1.91, 6.106, Th. 1.59; ἀ. ὑμῖν ὥστε . . Pl. Prt. 338c; ὑμέας καταλελάβηκε ἀ. τι βοηθέειν Hdt. 9.60; τὰ ἀ. καρτερεῖν E. IA 1370; τολμᾶν ἀδύνατα Id. Hel. 811; ἀδυνάτων ἐρᾶν Id. HF 318, cf. Luc. DDeor. 8, etc.; prov., ἀδύνατα θηρᾷς Macar. 1.26: Comp. -ώτερον, ἔτι . . εἰ οἷόν τε . . Pl. Tht. 192b, cf. Prm. 138d: Sup., ὃ δὴ πάντων -ώτατον Id. Phlb. 15b. III. Adv. -τως without power or skill, feebly, ἀμύνεσθαι Antipho 4.3.3, cf. 3.3.4 (Comp.), Lys. 12.3:—ἀ. ἔχειν to be unwell, Pl. Ax. 364b; to be unable, c. inf., Arist. Rh.Al. 1435a16; ἀ. ἔχει it is impossible, Epicur. Ep. 2p.49U.; ἀ. λέγεται it is an impossible story, Phld. Rh. 2.122 S.—Rare in poetry: Trag. only in E.
Key passages & sense analysis (Bonitz)
Index Aristotelicus. Hermann Bonitz's sense-by-sense analysis of
ἀδύνατος — with the passages
he singles out as decisive for each meaning — will appear here. That curated,
interpretive selection is the layer LSJ and a raw concordance don't provide.
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