invaluable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of invaluable
First recorded in 1570–80; in- 3 + valuable, in obsolete sense “capable of valuation”
Explanation
If you're robbed, much of what is stolen can be replaced. All you need is the cash value of what was lost. But some things––family photos, heirloom jewelry––are invaluable, meaning extremely valuable, or priceless. At first glance, you would think that invaluable means "not valuable." But to understand its meaning, you'd have to know that it was formed from the prefix in- "not" plus the verb value, plus the suffix –able "able to be." So something invaluable has such great value that its value can't be calculated.
Vocabulary lists containing invaluable
Mandela's Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Address
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The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
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The Magic Fish
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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.
A delicate green glass pendant in her bedroom that she found on Invaluable reminds her of Morocco, creating a sense of intimacy and connection with her space.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025
Buoyed by a new mantra — “I want to live” — she’s refashioned the apartment with repurposed goods from friends, estate sales, flea markets and the Invaluable online auction app.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025
Rajon Rondo: Invaluable Assistant to Hedge Fund Manager If you understand the plight of the adequately compensated, yet inconsistently appreciated, assistant, you understand the fight of Rondo.
From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2011
Invaluable to this clearing house of news, bullion and foreign capital will be Jeidels, who is a friend of Montagu Norman, has access to choice Continental pipelines into Hitlerland.
From Time Magazine Archive
Invaluable to Statesmen and others interested in the Acts of the British Senate.
From Notes and Queries, Number 68, February 15, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc. by Bell, George
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.
