indefatigable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of indefatigable
1580–90; < Latin indēfatīgābilis untiring, equivalent to in- in- 3 + dēfatīgā ( re ) to tire out ( see de-, fatigue) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Someone who is indefatigable can go on for a very long time without becoming tired. You might not be so happy to have an indefatigable guide on your walking trip––you'll have blisters, but she'll see no reason not to keep going. Indefatigable comes from Latin indefatigabilis, formed from the prefix in- "not" plus defatigare "to tire out." Here the prefix de- means "entirely." You can remember the root fatigare because it sounds so much like the English fatigue.
Vocabulary lists containing indefatigable
Animal Farm
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The Scarlet Letter
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The Haunting of Hill House
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Indefatigable training school closed in 1995 and reopened as a Ministry of Defence training base, a few years later.
From BBC • Nov. 26, 2021
Indefatigable to the point of grating: Jamie is such a winsome paragon that viewers may start feeling less beguiled than railroaded by the umpteenth musical number celebrating his you-go-boy self-belief.
From Washington Post • Sep. 8, 2021
Indefatigable and protean, Clinton read the disaffected landscape and adapted in her characteristic style—with a policy agenda.
From The New Yorker • Oct. 24, 2016
Indefatigable assistant Ronda Kamihira has something more difficult to work with, however, and that's how Caitlyn sees herself at the country club.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2015
Apparently this move did not succeed in its purpose for at 4.06 a salvo struck the Indefatigable on a line with her after turret, and exploded a magazine.
From A History of Sea Power by Stevens, William Oliver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
