indelible en · ADJ
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Latin indēlēbilis (“indestructible”). By surface analysis, in- + delible.
Meanings
-
Having the quality of being difficult to delete, remove, wash away, blot out, or efface.
The brow was smooth and fair; no deep thought, born of deep feeling, had grown there—those indelible lines which stamp even youth with age.
1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 235:This stain on my shirt is indelible.
This ink spot on the contract is indelible.
Written with indelible pen.
-
(figuratively) Incapable of being canceled, lost, or forgotten.
An indelible image from the Great Depression features a well-dressed family seated with their dog in a comfy car, smiling down from an oversize billboard on weary souls standing in line at a relief agency.
2020 April 16, Patricia Cohen, “Straggling in a Good Economy, and Now Struggling in a Crisis”, in New York Times:That horrible story just might make an indelible impression on the memory.
During our investigation it became clear that for three decades many other women had suffered at the hands of our abuser, but they had refused to testify against him because of the indelible stigma it would bring.
2014 August 29, Ruzwana Bashir, “The untold story of how a culture of shame perpetuates abuse. I know, I was a victim”, in The Guardian:
-
Incapable of being annulled.
November 7, 1678, Thomas Sprat, a sermon preached at the Anniversary Meeting of the Sons of Clergymen in the Church of St Mary-le-Bow They are […] endued with indelible power from above.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more indelible | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most indelible | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
delible · uninsertable · delible
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
unerasable · unforgettable · unerasable
Translations (58)
gl indelébel (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · gv do-scryst (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · uk невивідний (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · it indelebile (incapable of being annulled) · fi pysyvä (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · gv neuastyrtagh (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · nl onvergetelijk (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · pl nieusuwalny (incapable of being annulled) · fi peruuttamaton (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · pt indelével (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ru неизглади́мый (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · it indelebile (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · nl onuitwisbaar (incapable of being annulled) · ja 消せない (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · es indeleble (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · gv neuvooghee (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · pl nieusuwalny (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · grc ἀνεξάλειπτος (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · uk незмивний (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · nl onverwijderbaar (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · pt indelével (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · fi unohtumaton (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · de unauslöschlich (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · pt inesquecível (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · bg неизличим (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · uk незабутній (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · bg незаличим (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · de unauslöschlich (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · gl indeleble (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · nl onuitwisbaar (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · pt inextinguível (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ca indeleble (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · hu kitörölhetetlen (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · sv outplånlig (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · fi lähtemätön (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · fi peruuttamaton (incapable of being annulled) · ja 削除できない (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · es indeleble (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · el ανεξίτηλος (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · pt indelével (incapable of being annulled) · pl niezmywalny (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · eo neforigebla (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ja 消せない (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · cs nesmazatelný (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ru нестира́емый (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · nl onuitwisbaar (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · no uutslettelig (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · gv neunaardagh (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ru несмыва́емый (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · pt inanulável (incapable of being annulled) · it indelebile (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · de hartnäckig (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · fr indélébile (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · pl niezatarty (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · ru незабыва́емый (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · cs nesmazatelný (incapable of being canceled or forgotten) · fi lähtemätön (difficult to delete, remove or wash away) · ja 忘れられない (incapable of being canceled or forgotten)