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incorrigible

adjective

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L337633 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ɪnˈkɒɹɪdʒəb(ə)l/ / /ɪnˈkɒɹɪdʒɪb(ə)l/ / /ɪnˈkɔɹɪd͡ʒəb(ə)l/

adj

Etymology: From Middle English incorrigible, from Middle French incorrigible (1334), or directly from Latin incorrigibilis (“not to be corrected”), from in- (“not”) + corrigere (“to correct”) + -ibilis (“-able”), equivalent to in- + corrigible. Recorded since 1340.

  1. Defective and impossible to materially correct or set aright.

    The construction flaw is incorrigible; any attempt to amend it would cause a complete collapse.

  2. Unmanageable; impervious to correction by punishment or pain.

    an incorrigible youth

  3. Incurably depraved; not reformable.

    His dark soul was too incorrigible to repent, even at his execution.

  4. Unchangeably established in a belief or habit.

    Gordon Brown may have his grumpy, Granita moments, but as a strategist he is an incorrigible optimist.

  5. Intrinsically incapable of being corrected; impossible to disprove, by its very nature.

    The statement "My knee hurts" is incorrigible.

  6. Impossible to cure.

    It may appear as an epidemic, as a hereditary complaint, or as an obstinate and incorrigible disease again and again recurring.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English incorrigible, from Middle French incorrigible (1334), or directly from Latin incorrigibilis (“not to be corrected”), from in- (“not”) + corrigere (“to correct”) + -ibilis (“-able”), equivalent to in- + corrigible. Recorded since 1340.

  1. An incorrigibly bad person.

    The incorrigibles in the prison population are either lifers or habitual reoffenders.