First recorded in 1375–1425.
Comes from Latin, from the past participle of inveterāre, “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve.\"
Inveterāre contains veter-, the stem of vetus, meaning “old,\" which is also the stem of the word veteran.
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF INVETERATE\r\n

The inveterate procrastinator always left things until the last minute.
As an inveterate optimist, she always saw the bright side of every situation.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/I02/I0281600.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/inveterate_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"TEh3KxX5jEjLzgf8uddr5","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"oenophile","entry":"oenophile"},{"slug":"oenothera","entry":"oenothera"},{"slug":"oeo","entry":"OEO"},{"slug":"o-er","entry":"o'er"},{"slug":"oersted","entry":"oersted"}],"after":[{"slug":"oes","entry":"OES"},{"slug":"oesel","entry":"Oesel"},{"slug":"oesophageal","entry":"oesophageal"},{"slug":"oesophagoscope","entry":"oesophagoscope"},{"slug":"oesophagus","entry":"oesophagus"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"oerter"},"requestId":"WBFKxacxQ9ioMmGvu3WzG","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"oerter"},"requestId":"FkGbMODVBK466Edarrx4J","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[{"mpeg":"https://nonprod-audio.dictionary.com/NEW2016/oerter_000/oerter_000.mp3"}],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"Oerter","slug":"oerter"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"text\": \"Alfred A.\", \"type\": \"name\"}, {\"text\": \"Al\", \"type\": \"alternate_name\", \"punc\": \"comma\"}, {\"text\": \"1936\\u20132007,\", \"type\": \"date\"}, {\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"U.S. track and field athlete: four-time Olympic discus champion.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":{"pronunciationSetChunk":"{\"type\": \"pronunciation_set\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fce\", \"pronunciationGroupChunks\": [{\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"punc\": \"comma\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fcf\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"\\u02c8\\u0254r t\\u0259r\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fd0\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"awr\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fd2\"}, {\"text\": \"-ter\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}, {\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fd3\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"\\u02c8o\\u028ar-\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fd4\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"ohr\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fd6\"}, {\"text\": \"-\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]}"},"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"oerter"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"oerter"},"requestId":"2N3aK2D9GiSHtFE2gWM0U","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"oerter","displayForm":"Oerter","canonicalSlug":"oerter","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e70a4ef.7fca","type":"normal","entry":"Oerter","entrySyllabified":"Oer·ter","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"ipa":"ˈɔr tər, ˈoʊr- ","spell":"awr-ter, ohr- ","audio":{"audio/ogg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/lunawav/NEW2016/oerter_000.ogg","audio/mpeg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/NEW2016/oerter_000.mp3"}},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"Alfred A. \"Al\", 1936–2007,","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"U.S. track and field athlete: four-time Olympic discus champion.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":108703,"index-rank-01":["oerter"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["oerter's"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":["a. oerter","al","al oerter","alfred a. oerter","alfred oerter"],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"oerter"},"requestId":"SiMKbbGQFglNz7Wxd_ilP","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":["Oerter","Otter","otter","Erté","oater","order","outer","Herter","rorter","iter","Ortler","ERT","OTE","Peter","ort","peter","-ette","ottar","ureter","utter","Porter","dorter","porter","Eder","Oder","Oort","enter","ester","deter","meter","ormer","Artur","eider","ouster","oyster","-ote","uter-","enter-","-oate","veter.","-meter"],"tuna":["eater","oater","order","outer","ort","peter","utter","forter","porter","enter","deter","meter","ormer","veter","odder","courter","obiter","ouster","oyster"],"lunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"Oerter","slug":"oerter"},{"displayForm":"Otter","slug":"otter"},{"displayForm":"otter","slug":"otter"},{"displayForm":"Erté","slug":"erte"},{"displayForm":"oater","slug":"oater"},{"displayForm":"order","slug":"order"},{"displayForm":"outer","slug":"outer"},{"displayForm":"Herter","slug":"herter"},{"displayForm":"rorter","slug":"rorter"},{"displayForm":"iter","slug":"iter"},{"displayForm":"Ortler","slug":"ortler"},{"displayForm":"ERT","slug":"ert"},{"displayForm":"OTE","slug":"ote"},{"displayForm":"Peter","slug":"peter"},{"displayForm":"ort","slug":"ort"},{"displayForm":"peter","slug":"peter"},{"displayForm":"-ette","slug":"-ette"},{"displayForm":"ottar","slug":"ottar"},{"displayForm":"ureter","slug":"ureter"},{"displayForm":"utter","slug":"utter"},{"displayForm":"Porter","slug":"porter"},{"displayForm":"dorter","slug":"dorter"},{"displayForm":"porter","slug":"porter"},{"displayForm":"Eder","slug":"eder"},{"displayForm":"Oder","slug":"oder"},{"displayForm":"Oort","slug":"oort"},{"displayForm":"enter","slug":"enter"},{"displayForm":"ester","slug":"ester"},{"displayForm":"deter","slug":"deter"},{"displayForm":"meter","slug":"meter"},{"displayForm":"ormer","slug":"ormer"},{"displayForm":"Artur","slug":"artur"},{"displayForm":"eider","slug":"eider"},{"displayForm":"ouster","slug":"ouster"},{"displayForm":"oyster","slug":"oyster"},{"displayForm":"-ote","slug":"ote"},{"displayForm":"uter-","slug":"uter-"},{"displayForm":"enter-","slug":"enter"},{"displayForm":"-oate","slug":"-oate"},{"displayForm":"veter.","slug":"veter"},{"displayForm":"-meter","slug":"meter"}],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"eater","slug":"eater"},{"displayForm":"oater","slug":"oater"},{"displayForm":"order","slug":"order"},{"displayForm":"outer","slug":"outer"},{"displayForm":"ort","slug":"ort"},{"displayForm":"peter","slug":"peter"},{"displayForm":"utter","slug":"utter"},{"displayForm":"forter","slug":"forter"},{"displayForm":"porter","slug":"porter"},{"displayForm":"enter","slug":"enter"},{"displayForm":"deter","slug":"deter"},{"displayForm":"meter","slug":"meter"},{"displayForm":"ormer","slug":"ormer"},{"displayForm":"veter","slug":"veter"},{"displayForm":"odder","slug":"odder"},{"displayForm":"courter","slug":"courter"},{"displayForm":"obiter","slug":"obiter"},{"displayForm":"ouster","slug":"ouster"},{"displayForm":"oyster","slug":"oyster"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"oerter"},"requestId":"FKqKnJgK-os5F1HNlCmqY","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

Oerter

noun

Word of the Day