imperishable

American  

[im-per-i-shuh-buhl] / ɪmˈpɛr ɪ ʃə bəl /

adjective

1. not subject to decay; indestructible; enduring.

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imperishable British  

/ ɪmˈpɛrɪʃəbəl /

adjective

1. not subject to decay or deterioration

   imperishable goods

2. not likely to be forgotten

   imperishable truths

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Other Word Forms

• imperishability
  noun
• imperishableness
  noun
• imperishably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of imperishable

First recorded in 1640–50; im- ² + perishable

Explanation

Anything imperishable is made to last, like a marble statue or true love. Imperishable things endure. To perish is to die. Things that are imperishable don't. You may have heard of perishable food, the kind that will go bad eventually, like fresh fruit or a ham sandwich. Imperishable foods will always be fine to eat, like a bag of dried beans. There can also be imperishable ideas and beliefs, like imperishable hope or imperishable truth. Certain heroes like James Bond seem to be imperishable, especially in the movie Never Say Die.

Example Sentences

Imperishable lovers of the imperishable Greta Keller, 60, will swoon over this album of her Theater an der Wien concert last fall.

From Time Magazine Archive

A supplementary passage excludes difference on the part of the Imperishable from the supreme Person.

From The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja — Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48 by Thibaut, George

They seemed to be alone together in a sanctuary that none other might enter, husband and wife, made one by the Bond Imperishable, waiting together for deliverance.

From The Safety Curtain, and Other Stories by Dell, Ethel M. (Ethel May)

In this latter passage the word 'death' denotes what is also called 'darkness,' viz. non-intelligent matter in its subtle state; as appears from another passage in the same Upanishad,'the Imperishable is merged in darkness.'

From The Vedanta-Sutras with the Commentary by Ramanuja — Sacred Books of the East, Volume 48 by Thibaut, George

The movement struck Bradley as being queer, and he walked around after the secretary, still holding out a sample of the Imperishable.

From Elbow-Room A Novel Without a Plot by Clark, Charles Heber