infinite en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈɪnfɪnɪt/ (US)
- /ˈɪnfɪnɪt/ (UK)
- /ˈɪnfənɪt/ (US)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English infinite, from Old French infinit and its etymon Latin īnfīnītus, from in- (“not”) + fīnis (“end”) + the perfect passive participle ending -ītus. By surface analysis, in- + finite. Doublet of infinito. Displaced native Old English unġeendodlīċ.
Meanings
-
Indefinably large, countlessly great; immense.
The number is so infinite, that verily it would be an easier matter for me to reckon up those that have feared the same.
1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:Whatever is finite, as finite, will admit of no comparative relation with infinity; for whatever is less than infinite is still infinitely distant from infinity; and lower than infinite distance the lowest or least cannot sink.
1735, Henry Brooke, Universal Beauty:infinite riches in a little room
c. 1589–1590 (date written), Christopher Marlo[we], edited by Tho[mas] Heywood, The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Iew of Malta. […], London: […] I[ohn] B[eale] for Nicholas Vavasour, […], published 1633, →OCLC, (please specify the page):which infinite calamity shall cause to human life
1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
-
Boundless, endless, without end or limits; innumerable.
Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 147:5:
-
(with plural noun) Infinitely many.
Huxley's theory says that if you provide infinite monkeys with infinite typewriters, some monkey somewhere will eventually create a masterpiece – a play by Shakespeare, a Platonic dialogue, or an economic treatise by Adam Smith.
2012, Helen Donelan, Karen Kear, Magnus Ramage, Online Communication and Collaboration: A Reader:
- Greater than any positive quantity or magnitude; limitless.
-
(of a set) Having infinitely many elements.
For any infinite set, there is a 1-1 correspondence between it and at least one of its proper subsets. For example, there is a 1-1 correspondence between the set of natural numbers and the set of squares of natural numbers, which is a proper subset of the set of natural numbers.
2009, Brandon C. Look, “Symbolic Logic II, Lecture 2: Set Theory”, in www.uky.edu/~look, archived from the original on 19 Jun 2018:
- Not limited by person or number.
- Capable of endless repetition; said of certain forms of the canon, also called perpetual fugues, constructed so that their ends lead to their beginnings.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more infinite | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most infinite | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
infinitesimal · finite · noninfinite · limited · uninfinite
Deriveds
infinite hotel paradox · infinite continued fraction · infinitely · infiniteness · infinitate · infinitillion · noninfinite · infinite regress · infinitude · infinite monkey theorem · infiniverse · infinigon · infinite-dimensional · infinitism · in one's infinite wisdom · infinitist · infinite recursion · infinite loop · infinite runner · infinitesimal · semi-infinite · infinifat · infinitize · infinite suicide · bi-infinite · doubly infinite · infinity · infinite canon · infinite series · infinite money glitch · infinite descent · infinite scroll · superinfinite · biinfinite · pseudoinfinite
Hyponyms
countably infinite · beginningless · uncountable · innumerable
Relateds
vast · eternal · continuous · deep · infinitive · immense
Synonyms
eternal · permanent · uncountable · numberless · amaranthine · eviternal · undying · vast · uncounted · inestimable · evergreen · unbounded · unending · lasting · countless · agelong · limitless · unending · heavenly · innumerable · unnumbered · interminable · countless · amaranthine · untold · imperishable · never-ending · endless · enduring · forever · unlimited · eterne · universal · unbottomed · everduring · limitless · unlimited · indesinent · persistent · perennial · boundless · timeless · infinite · undeadly · unnumberable · unbounded · perpetuate · everlasting · sempiternal · ageful · endless · bottomless · endless · boundless · celestial · perpetual · immeasurable
Translations (147)
nl oneindig (figuratively, very large) · nl eindeloos (figuratively, very large) · fr infini (boundless, endless) · uk нескінче́нний (boundless, endless) · sv oändlig (boundless, endless) · de unendlich (figuratively, very large) · grc ἄπειρος (boundless, endless) · af oneindig (having infinitely many elements) · sv oändlig (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · nrf înfinni (boundless, endless) · ca infinit (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · si අනන්ත (boundless, endless) · tr devasa (figuratively, very large) · hi अनन्त (boundless, endless) · hu végtelen (boundless, endless) · ms tidak terbatas (boundless, endless) · my အနန္တ (boundless, endless) · tl awangganin (having infinitely many elements) · la īnfīnītus (boundless, endless) · pl nieskończony (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · nb uendelig (having infinitely many elements) · hi अपरिमित (figuratively, very large) · nl oneindig (boundless, endless) · ru бесконе́чный (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · th อนันต์ (boundless, endless) · ca infinit (having infinitely many elements) · nl eindeloos (boundless, endless) · el άπειρο (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · he אֵין־סוֹפִי (boundless, endless) · af oneindig (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · uk неося́жний (figuratively, very large) · ro infinit (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · fi päättymätön (boundless, endless) · nb uendelig (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · ka უსასრულო (figuratively, very large) · tr sınırsız (boundless, endless) · bg безкраен (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · ru безграни́чный (boundless, endless) · ro fără limită (boundless, endless) · sa अनन्त (boundless, endless) · nn uendeleg (having infinitely many elements) · id nirbatas (boundless, endless) · sl neskončen (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · mi manomano (figuratively, very large) · cs nekonečný (boundless, endless) · ga éigríochta (having infinitely many elements) · fr infini (having infinitely many elements) · eo senfina (boundless, endless) · fi ääretön (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · de unbegrenzt (boundless, endless) · ru несме́тный (figuratively, very large) · ja 無限の (boundless, endless) · tl awangganin (boundless, endless) · ur لامتناہی (boundless, endless) · uk безконе́чний (boundless, endless) · sv ändlös (figuratively, very large) · ru бесконе́чный (figuratively, very large) · kk ақырсыз (boundless, endless) · ms tidak terhad (boundless, endless) · de unendlich (boundless, endless) · hi अनंत (boundless, endless) · de unzählige (figuratively, very large) · ja 巨大な (figuratively, very large) · ro nelimitat (figuratively, very large) · ru бесчи́сленный (figuratively, very large) · ca infinit (boundless, endless) · hi असीम (boundless, endless) · vi vô hạn (boundless, endless) · sk nekonečný (boundless, endless) · ka უსაზღვრო (figuratively, very large) · fr infini (figuratively, very large) · sv oändlig (figuratively, very large) · be бескане́чны (boundless, endless) · ga éigríochta (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · nn grenselaus (boundless, endless) · nn uendeleg (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · de endlos (figuratively, very large) · uk нескінче́нний (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · bg неопределен (grammar: not limited by person or number) · hi अनन्त (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · uk незліче́нна кі́лькість (with plural noun: infinitely many) · sv gränslös (boundless, endless) · ga éigríochta (boundless, endless) · sa अदिति (boundless, endless) · de unendlich groß (having infinitely many elements) · mk бескраен (boundless, endless) · ru бескра́йний (boundless, endless) · de unendlich (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · ru беспреде́льный (boundless, endless) · hu határtalan (boundless, endless) · be бяско́нцы (boundless, endless) · pl nieskończony (boundless, endless) · nb grenseløs (boundless, endless) · de endlos (boundless, endless) · bg безкра́ен (boundless, endless) · ja 途方もない (figuratively, very large) · sh beskonačan (boundless, endless) · ang unġeendodlīċ (boundless, endless) · bg безконе́чен (boundless, endless) · ro infinit (boundless, endless) · nb uendelig (boundless, endless) · nn endelaus (boundless, endless) · ja 果てしない (boundless, endless) · uk нескінче́нний (having infinitely many elements) · mk бесконечен (boundless, endless) · tr sonsuz (boundless, endless) · cmn 無限 /无限 (boundless, endless) · mi manotini (figuratively, very large) · nl oneindig (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · de unbeschränkt (boundless, endless) · hi अपरिमित (boundless, endless) · af oneindig (boundless, endless) · vi bất tận (figuratively, very large) · cmn 無窮 /无穷 (boundless, endless) · km គ្មានទីបំផុត (boundless, endless) · ro nesfârșit (figuratively, very large) · nn uendeleg (boundless, endless) · lb onendlech (boundless, endless) · ru бесконе́чный (having infinitely many elements) · pt infinito (boundless, endless) · af oneindig (figuratively, very large) · mi mutungakore (boundless, endless) · ko 무한 (boundless, endless) · pt infinito (having infinitely many elements) · bg безчислен (figuratively, very large) · grc ἀπέραντος (boundless, endless) · pt infinito (figuratively, very large) · sl neskončen (figuratively, very large) · th ไม่มีที่สิ้นสุด (boundless, endless) · pt infinito (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · it infinito (boundless, endless) · ro infinit (having infinitely many elements) · tl awangganin (greater than any positive quantity or magnitude) · hy անվերջ (boundless, endless) · fr un nombre infini de (with plural noun: infinitely many) · vi bất tận (boundless, endless) · he אֵינְסוֹפִי (boundless, endless) · ro infinit (figuratively, very large) · fi ääretön (boundless, endless) · fi ääretön (figuratively, very large) · el άπειρος (boundless, endless) · nb endeløs (boundless, endless) · vi vô bờ (figuratively, very large) · ru бесконе́чный (boundless, endless) · es infinito (boundless, endless) · sl neskončen (boundless, endless) · sv ändlös (boundless, endless)