inexhaustible
Americanadjective
-
not exhaustible; incapable of being depleted.
an inexhaustible supply.
-
untiring; tireless.
an inexhaustible runner.
adjective
-
incapable of being used up; endless
inexhaustible patience
-
incapable or apparently incapable of becoming tired; tireless
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inexhaustible
1595–1605; < Latin inexhaust ( us ) not exhausted ( see in- 3, exhaust) + -ible
Explanation
When something is inexhaustible, you'll never run out of it. If your grandfather appears to have an inexhaustible supply of nostalgic stories, it seems like he could tell them forever. Unfortunately, if the kids you're babysitting have inexhaustible amounts of energy, they are never going to fall asleep. But if you've got an inexhaustible supply of Disney movies for them to watch, you'll be able to keep them distracted until their parents come home. This adjective combines the prefix in-, "opposite of," and exhaustible, from the Latin exhaurire, "take away, use up, or empty." So when something can't be used up, it's inexhaustible.
Vocabulary lists containing inexhaustible
Jimmy Carter, Speech from July 15, 1979
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Hollow City
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"Watership Down" by Richard Adams, Chapter 43-Epilogue
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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.
Not so long ago, it was seen as a land of opportunity for western carmakers, where the rapidly expanding middle classes seemed to have an inexhaustible appetite for upmarket foreign-badged vehicles.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
"For a long time we were chasing only volumes, quantity -- after all, Russia was an inexhaustible market for us."
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
“More often than not, those who have inexhaustible means, like the billionaires, they get what they want.”
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
“Boss Lincoln” is emphatically not a political-science tract; Mr. Pinsker makes his points within a gripping chronological narrative that consistently animates Lincoln’s inexhaustible quest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
