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

Imperishable in their eternal place, they are moved alone by the sun.

From Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by Adams, W. H. Davenport

The Vâjasaneyins, in the chapter recording the questions asked by Gârgî, read as follows: 'He said, O Gârgî, the Brâhmanas call that the Imperishable.

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

So they had named him Niezguinek, that is, Imperishable.

From Fairy Tales of the Slav Peasants and Herdsmen by Harding, Emily J.

His work has become his “ego,” he transforms himself into the Imperishable with its universal challenge.

From Human, All-Too-Human, Part II by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm