First recorded in 1375–1425.
Comes from Latin, from the past participle of inveterāre, “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve.\"
Inveterāre contains veter-, the stem of vetus, meaning “old,\" which is also the stem of the word veteran.
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF INVETERATE\r\n

The inveterate procrastinator always left things until the last minute.
As an inveterate optimist, she always saw the bright side of every situation.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/I02/I0281600.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/inveterate_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"tvhxCMc6bq2V58ZObjgO2","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"achromate","entry":"achromate"},{"slug":"achromatic","entry":"achromatic"},{"slug":"achromatic-colour","entry":"achromatic colour"},{"slug":"achromaticity","entry":"achromaticity"},{"slug":"achromatic-lens","entry":"achromatic lens"}],"after":[{"slug":"achromatin","entry":"achromatin"},{"slug":"achromatism","entry":"achromatism"},{"slug":"achromatize","entry":"achromatize"},{"slug":"achromatophil","entry":"achromatophil"},{"slug":"achromatophilia","entry":"achromatophilia"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"achromatic-prism"},"requestId":"9hkuOW02cdHbJCumNZ5sv","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"achromatic-prism"},"requestId":"J20e5U9g7fZZvH67P7Www","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"achromatic prism","slug":"achromatic-prism"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"a system of two or more prisms of different substances that deflects but does not disperse a beam of light.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":{"labelSetText":"Optics."},"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":null,"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"achromatic-prism"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"achromatic-prism"},"requestId":"2j7z_6as6Ol4qj7H45NTq","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"achromatic-prism","displayForm":"achromatic prism","canonicalSlug":"achromatic-prism","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e5a9ae4.-717b","type":"normal","entry":"achromatic prism","entrySyllabified":"achromatic prism","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"a system of two or more prisms of different substances that deflects but does not disperse a beam of light.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":"Optics."}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":1134,"index-rank-01":["achromatic prism"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["achromatic prism's","achromatic prisms","achromatic prisms'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":[],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"categoryId":"328","complexityScore":0.5166577699710617,"gradeLevel":"post_college","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"achromatic-prism"},"requestId":"iaAanMLbRd0iGe3twqYv9","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":[],"tuna":[],"lunaWithSlug":[],"tunaWithSlug":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"achromatic-prism"},"requestId":"LCwGy2jW4ut_tsRG_p1BH","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

achromatic prism

noun

Word of the Day