incurable
Americanadjective
-
not curable; that cannot be cured, remedied, or corrected.
an incurable disease.
-
not susceptible to change.
his incurable pessimism.
- Synonyms:
- relentless, incorrigible
noun
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incurable
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Late Latin incūrābilis; see in- 3, curable
Explanation
Something incurable can't be fixed or healed. Incurable diseases can sometimes be lived with, but they can't be cured. An incurable crush on a movie star means there's no getting over it, and being diagnosed with an incurable illness is always bad news, because no medicine can eliminate it. Your friends might call you an incurable optimist — this means you always see the glass as half-full, and there's no changing your cheerful nature. Incurable combines the prefix in-, "not," and curable, from the Latin cura, "care or concern," and also "means of healing."
Vocabulary lists containing incurable
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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"Dulce et Decorum Est," by Wilfred Owen
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The Martian Chronicles
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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.
The legislation establishing a right to assisted dying for some adults suffering from an incurable condition was passed by parliament in July after years of debate.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Actor and comedian Jasper Carrott has spoken about his pride and love for daughter Lucy Davis after she announced she has incurable breast cancer.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Latino men who cut artificial-stone countertops in California are falling ill from an incurable and deadly lung disease at an alarming rate, a new study finds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Last month, the 48-year-old shared that he’d been diagnosed with autoimmune gastritis, an incurable, difficult-to-detect condition that increases one’s likelihood of developing stomach cancer.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026
The story said her name was Helen L., “a young woman in her thirties when she was admitted to the Johns Hopkins Hospital with an incurable cancer of the cervix.”
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
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.
