indelibly
Americanadverb
Explanation
When something happens or is done indelibly, it can't be erased or removed. If you label your sleeping bag indelibly with your name, you do it in permanent ink. A memory might be indelibly etched in your mind — in other words, it's there for good. And when a serial number is indelibly engraved on your new computer, it can't be removed. Indelibly comes from the Latin indelebilis, a combination of in-, "not," and delebilis, "able to be destroyed," which is rooted in delere, "destroy or blot out."
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.
Mr. Lane’s performance as Miller’s life-baffled Willy Loman indelibly proved that his range as an actor extends well beyond musical comedy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
If Ms. Noem lets her bureaucracy support his deportation, the Secretary will indelibly mar her legacy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Equally if not more indelibly depicted is the tragedy of what the fire erased from the world.
From Salon • Dec. 8, 2025
"It's coming home!" – a phrase indelibly linked to English football fans – has now gained currency among some Zambians in the battle over what to do with the body of former President Edgar Lungu.
From BBC • Aug. 14, 2025
But it was the meerkats that impressed themselves most indelibly on my mind.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
