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invaluable = valuable?
Many people find it confusing that the in- prefix at the beginning of invaluable apparently lacks the meaning "not" found in a number of other words, such as invalid, inarticulate, and insane. In fact, the prefix does indicate negation, but in a way that is not immediately obvious. The original (and current) meaning of invaluable is "valuable beyond estimation"; the word describes something so precious that one cannot assign a price to it. This, clearly, is the opposite of the meaning "having no value; valueless" that the word might seem to carry. Invaluable actually has been recorded in the sense "without value," but such use has been exceedingly rare and is practically nonexistent today.
Synonyms
Examples of valuable in a Sentence
Alan Murray, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
Her hymnal, pictured, a gift from her church choir, has always been her most valuable playbook.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 21 Apr. 2024
The center started its study in Michigan by meeting with local scientists, government officials, businesses and residents, who then helped to identify what was valuable in an ecosystem and the threats to those values.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 20 Apr. 2024
Additionally, the Ukrainian Navy has made surprising and significant gains against its Russian counterpart, pushing back the Black Sea Fleet from more valuable coastal positions.
—Peter Aitken, Fox News, 20 Apr. 2024
By 2018, ByteDance had become one of the world’s most valuable private technology companies.
—Lauren Hirsch, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2024
That's valuable, but having more digits in your receipts column for Q1 doesn't equate to a decisive advantage.
—Nathaniel Rakich, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Crucially, Satoshi wrote that there would only ever be 21 million bitcoin, so as to temper its inflation and potentially make each bitcoin more valuable over time.
—Andrew R. Chow, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
With an ensemble of analytical precision, this unit empowers industries to uncover valuable data, enabling informed decisions and enhanced operational efficiency.
—Jon Stojan, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024
Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
Although not a cash heist, nearly two years ago, as much as $100 million in jewels and other valuables were stolen from a Brink’s big rig at a Southern California truck stop.
—Sean Murphy, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024
The heist comes less than two years after one of the largest jewel thefts in the country’s history, when a Brinks truck in Southern California was robbed of as much as $100 million in jewels and other valuables – in a mere 27 minutes.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
In that incident, the victim was accosted by two men who demanded valuables.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2024
The daypack is well constructed with a hidden back pocket, a secure place to store valuables, and the vertical zipper pocket at the front allows for easy retrieval of items without having to take off your backpack.
—Karthika Gupta, Travel + Leisure, 21 Mar. 2024
It’s located in a free port (a real thing where rich people can secure their valuables without paying taxes on them) at the Oslo airport.
—Nate Jones, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2024
Protect your valuables in the hotel safe and wear a money belt when traveling to keep credit cards and personal items close.
—Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024
Other steps include neighborhood communication and vigilance, making an inventory of valuables and securing them, and registering bikes.
—Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'valuable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Valuable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/valuable. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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