inexhaustible
Americanadjective
-
not exhaustible; incapable of being depleted.
an inexhaustible supply.
-
untiring; tireless.
an inexhaustible runner.
adjective
-
incapable of being used up; endless
inexhaustible patience
-
incapable or apparently incapable of becoming tired; tireless
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inexhaustible
1595–1605; < Latin inexhaust ( us ) not exhausted ( see in- 3, exhaust) + -ible
Explanation
When something is inexhaustible, you'll never run out of it. If your grandfather appears to have an inexhaustible supply of nostalgic stories, it seems like he could tell them forever. Unfortunately, if the kids you're babysitting have inexhaustible amounts of energy, they are never going to fall asleep. But if you've got an inexhaustible supply of Disney movies for them to watch, you'll be able to keep them distracted until their parents come home. This adjective combines the prefix in-, "opposite of," and exhaustible, from the Latin exhaurire, "take away, use up, or empty." So when something can't be used up, it's inexhaustible.
Vocabulary lists containing inexhaustible
Jimmy Carter, Speech from July 15, 1979
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Hollow City
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"Watership Down" by Richard Adams, Chapter 43-Epilogue
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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.
"I regard art as an inexhaustible source of expression. To stop would mean having completed one’s existence, and I don’t think I’m there yet."
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
"For a long time we were chasing only volumes, quantity -- after all, Russia was an inexhaustible market for us."
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
“More often than not, those who have inexhaustible means, like the billionaires, they get what they want.”
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2026
Few people were more agnostically alive than Stoppard, who loved the finer things in life and handsomely earned them with his inexhaustible wit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2025
The world was huge and inexhaustible; he had only to allow his sheep to set the route for a while, and he would discover other interesting things.
From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho
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.
