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
- incurability noun
- incurableness noun
- incurably adverb
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 disease is inherited and currently incurable, with many children dying within a few years of diagnosis.
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
The debate centers around the idea of what constitutes a cure for multiple myeloma, the to-date incurable but increasingly treatable form of blood cancer I have.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
The opprobrium that ensued in the course of a shamelessly one-sided trial shredded their reputations, cost them their jobs and led to an incurable banishment from public life.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Smith, a guide dog trainer was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable lung disease, in 2019 and was medically retired from her job working with children with learning difficulties.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
She discovered that underneath the aspect of the Rumpled Porcupine, a tortured Marxist was at war with an impossible, incurable Romantic—who forgot the candles, who broke the wineglasses, who lost the ring.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
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.
