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incorrigible

[in-kawr-i-juh-buh l, -kor-]
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adjective
  1. not corrigible; bad beyond correction or reform: incorrigible behavior; an incorrigible liar.
  2. impervious to constraints or punishment; willful; unruly; uncontrollable: an incorrigible child; incorrigible hair.
  3. firmly fixed; not easily changed: an incorrigible habit.
  4. not easily swayed or influenced: an incorrigible optimist.
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noun
  1. 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
Related formsin·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. 2018

Related Words

hardened, abandoned, beastly, incurable, intractable, inveterate, irreparable, loser, useless, wicked, irredeemable, recidivous, unreformed

Examples from the Web for incorrigible

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • "You are an incorrigible, young Bonaparte," said the teacher.

  • Bobby was incorrigible, and there was no use in expecting seriousness from him.

    The Dominant Strain

    Anna Chapin Ray

  • Razumov envied the materialism of the thief and the passion of the incorrigible lover.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • It is quite possible that I am a bad economist; but it is certain that I am incorrigible.

    Notes on My Books

    Joseph Conrad

  • I laughed at this fad, and, not thinking him incorrigible I took him into my service.

    The Memoires of Casanova, Complete

    Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

British Dictionary definitions for incorrigible

incorrigible

adjective
  1. beyond correction, reform, or alteration
  2. firmly rooted; ineradicable
  3. philosophy (of a belief) having the property that whoever honestly believes it cannot be mistakenCompare defeasible
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noun
  1. a person or animal that is incorrigible
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Derived Formsincorrigibility 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

Word Origin and History for incorrigible

adj.

mid-14c., from Old French incorrigible (mid-14c.), or directly from Latin incorrigibilis "not to be corrected," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + corrigibilis, from corrigere "to correct" (see correct). Related: Incorrigibly. As a noun, from 1746.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper