incorrigible

[ in-kawr-i-juh-buhl, -kor- ]

/ ɪnˈkɔr ɪ dʒə bəl, -ˈkɒr- /

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See synonyms for: incorrigible / incorrigibles / incorrigibility on Thesaurus.com

adjective

not corrigible; bad beyond correction or reform: incorrigible behavior; an incorrigible liar.

impervious to constraints or punishment; willful; unruly; uncontrollable: an incorrigible child; incorrigible hair.

firmly fixed; not easily changed: an incorrigible habit.

not easily swayed or influenced: an incorrigible optimist.

noun

a person who is incorrigible.

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Origin of incorrigible

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English word from Latin word incorrigibilis.See in-³, corrigible

OTHER WORDS FROM incorrigible

in·cor·ri·gi·bil·i·ty, in·cor·ri·gi·ble·ness, nounin·cor·ri·gi·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use incorrigible in a sentence

It was filthy beyond belief,” said Middleton, who was sent to the school for the crime of “incorrigibility.
The Bone Collectors Get to Work at Florida’s Dozier School|Christine Pelisek|September 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Emmy- and Tony Award-winning actor Charles Dutton understands the incorrigibility of some violent inmates.
Ex-Prisoners Say Life Term Is Cruel for Teens, As Case Hits High Court|Sandra McElwaine|March 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
I remember an exasperated and frightened mother who took a boy of fourteen into court upon the charge of incorrigibility.
The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets|Jane Addams
She made a gesture of hopelessness at his incorrigibility, and again attempted to withdraw her hands.
Selected Stories|Bret Harte

M. Benedikt said that prison chaplains agreed with medical men in recognising the incorrigibility of certain criminals.
The Criminal|Havelock Ellis
It seemed to him now that at his last visit he had seen in her the symptoms of incorrigibility which were now evident.
The Awakening|Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy
It wasn't incorrigibility on my part or severity in a nasty way on hers.
Paris Vistas|Helen Davenport Gibbons

British Dictionary definitions for incorrigible

incorrigible

/ (ɪnˈkɒrɪdʒəbəl) /

adjective

beyond correction, reform, or alteration

firmly rooted; ineradicable

philosophy (of a belief) having the property that whoever honestly believes it cannot be mistakenCompare defeasible

noun

a person or animal that is incorrigible

Derived forms of incorrigible

incorrigibility or incorrigibleness, nounincorrigibly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

incorrigible

Origin of incorrigible

OTHER WORDS FROM incorrigible

Words related to incorrigible

How to use incorrigible in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for incorrigible

Derived forms of incorrigible