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":"j3875N1BECIy9GpZ3t1cM","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"japanese-cedar","entry":"Japanese cedar"},{"slug":"japanese-chin","entry":"Japanese Chin"},{"slug":"japanese-clematis","entry":"Japanese clematis"},{"slug":"japanese-flowering-cherry","entry":"Japanese flowering cherry"},{"slug":"japanese-gelatin","entry":"Japanese gelatin"}],"after":[{"slug":"japanese-honeysuckle","entry":"Japanese honeysuckle"},{"slug":"japanese-iris","entry":"Japanese iris"},{"slug":"japanese-ivy","entry":"Japanese ivy"},{"slug":"japanese-knotweed","entry":"Japanese knotweed"},{"slug":"japanese-lacquer","entry":"Japanese lacquer"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"japanese-holly"},"requestId":"A5jA4gPDrnA_f2gdhi4Yw","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"japanese-holly"},"requestId":"FZqGV-lv9zVBRzvA4P5ZH","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"Japanese holly","slug":"japanese-holly"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"an evergreen shrub,\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"Ilex crenata,\", \"type\": \"emphasis\"}, {\"text\": \"of Japan, having black fruit and box-shaped foliage, widely grown as an ornamental.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":null,"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"japanese-holly"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"japanese-holly"},"requestId":"3Uai43YBtVrYIILF7391j","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"japanese-holly","displayForm":"Japanese holly","canonicalSlug":"japanese-holly","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6b7368.6e6","type":"normal","entry":"Japanese holly","entrySyllabified":"Japanese holly","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":null,"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"an evergreen shrub, Ilex crenata, of Japan, having black fruit and box-shaped foliage, widely grown as an ornamental.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":81980,"index-rank-01":["japanese holly"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["japanese hollies","japanese hollies'","japanese holly's"],"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":"170","complexityScore":0.3678239320471735,"gradeLevel":"middle_school","tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"japanese-holly"},"requestId":"rN-s1NYzgK3s_kZIWcKzo","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Japanese","Javanese","Japanize","Capaneus","Japanesque","Japanism"],"tuna":["japanned","japan","jones","happens","spans","caponize","happiness","jeans","pansy","carpings","japing","sapience","jumpiness","japanning","sappiness","gayness","Janings","canines","cleanse","joyance","tapings","copings","Johnness","caginess","canoness","dopiness","gameness","ripeness","de pones","de-pones","re pines","re-pines"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Japanese","slug":"japanese"},{"displayForm":"Javanese","slug":"javanese"},{"displayForm":"Japanize","slug":"japanize"},{"displayForm":"Capaneus","slug":"capaneus"},{"displayForm":"Japanesque","slug":"japanesque"},{"displayForm":"Japanism","slug":"japanism"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"japanned","slug":"japanned"},{"displayForm":"japan","slug":"japan"},{"displayForm":"jones","slug":"jones"},{"displayForm":"happens","slug":"happens"},{"displayForm":"spans","slug":"spans"},{"displayForm":"caponize","slug":"caponize"},{"displayForm":"happiness","slug":"happiness"},{"displayForm":"jeans","slug":"jeans"},{"displayForm":"pansy","slug":"pansy"},{"displayForm":"carpings","slug":"carpings"},{"displayForm":"japing","slug":"japing"},{"displayForm":"sapience","slug":"sapience"},{"displayForm":"jumpiness","slug":"jumpiness"},{"displayForm":"japanning","slug":"japanning"},{"displayForm":"sappiness","slug":"sappiness"},{"displayForm":"gayness","slug":"gayness"},{"displayForm":"canines","slug":"canines"},{"displayForm":"cleanse","slug":"cleanse"},{"displayForm":"joyance","slug":"joyance"},{"displayForm":"tapings","slug":"tapings"},{"displayForm":"copings","slug":"copings"},{"displayForm":"caginess","slug":"caginess"},{"displayForm":"canoness","slug":"canoness"},{"displayForm":"dopiness","slug":"dopiness"},{"displayForm":"gameness","slug":"gameness"},{"displayForm":"ripeness","slug":"ripeness"},{"displayForm":"de pones","slug":"de%20pones"},{"displayForm":"de-pones","slug":"de-pones"},{"displayForm":"re pines","slug":"re%20pines"},{"displayForm":"re-pines","slug":"re-pines"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"japanese-holly"},"requestId":"Rk4Y-IGNBpmZhRJ31rmNf","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Japanese holly

noun

Word of the Day