Meaning & use
incorrigible
Last updated
Meaning
adjectivecomparabledisapprovinghumorous
Having a fault or bad habit so fixed that nothing, including punishment, will change it.
Grammar: Describes people and habits: an incorrigible liar; often said fondly.
Patterns
- an incorrigible something
- incorrigible about something
He is an incorrigible optimist who sees hope everywhere.
The incorrigible puppy chewed another shoe.
Despite repeated warnings, the boy remained incorrigible.
Common combinations
- incorrigible liar
- The boy was an incorrigible liar.
- incorrigible flirt
- Everyone knows him as an incorrigible flirt.
- incorrigible optimist
- My aunt is an incorrigible optimist.
- absolutely incorrigible
- The cat is absolutely incorrigible around fish.
- incorrigible gossip
- She is an incorrigible gossip.
Synonyms and how they differ
- hopeless
- Hopeless is more negative and suggests failure, while incorrigible stresses a stubborn habit.
- irredeemable
- Irredeemable is stronger and means impossible to save, often morally.
- inveterate
- Inveterate describes a long-established habit and sounds less critical.
- unrepentant
- Unrepentant focuses on feeling no regret, not on being unable to change.
Opposites
Word family
- incorrigibly adverb
- in a way that cannot be corrected
- incorrigibility noun
- the state of being unable to be reformed
- correct verb
- to put right or fix
- corrigible adjective
- able to be corrected (rare)
Commonly confused: incorrigible or incorruptible?
incorrigible vs incorruptible
Incorruptible means honest and impossible to bribe, nearly the opposite attitude to incorrigible, which means unable to be reformed.
Practice
Which person is best described as incorrigible?
Choose one answer.
Incorrigible means impossible to reform. Only the first person keeps the bad behavior despite correction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incorrigible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.