incorrigible

[ in-kawr-i-juh-buhl, -kor- ]
See synonyms for: incorrigibleincorrigiblesincorrigibility on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. firmly fixed; not easily changed: an incorrigible habit.

  2. not easily swayed or influenced: an incorrigible optimist.

noun
  1. a person who is incorrigible.

Origin of incorrigible

1
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, noun
  • in·cor·ri·gi·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use incorrigible in a sentence

  • I was just thinking how lovely it would be to sit down before a large, juicy beefsteak, said Tootles incorrigibly.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • Some one must be tobogganing out there, some one very young and gay and incorrigibly certain of joy.

    The Dark Tower | Phyllis Bottome
  • This kind of forced labour may do some good to the incorrigibly idle, but it does the greatest harm to all the rest.

  • His hair curled crisply and incorrigibly and he bore himself with a lazy sort of grace, agile for all its indolence.

    A Pagan of the Hills | Charles Neville Buck

British Dictionary definitions for incorrigible

incorrigible

/ (ɪnˈkɒrɪdʒəbəl) /


adjective
  1. beyond correction, reform, or alteration

  2. firmly rooted; ineradicable

  1. philosophy (of a belief) having the property that whoever honestly believes it cannot be mistaken: Compare defeasible

noun
  1. a person or animal that is incorrigible

Derived forms of incorrigible

  • incorrigibility or incorrigibleness, noun
  • incorrigibly, 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