interminable
adjective
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We promise not to ramble on endlessly about the origins of interminable. The word was borrowed into English in the 15th century and descends from a Latin combination of the prefix in- ("not") and the verb terminare, meaning "to terminate" or "to limit." The word describes not only something without an actual end (or no end in sight, such as "interminable oceans"), but also events, such as tedious lectures, that drag on in such a way that they give no clear indication of ever wrapping up. Other relatives of interminable in English include terminate, determine, terminal, and exterminate.
Examples of interminable in a Sentence
Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024
Israel has evolved an entire intelligence apparatus and aggressive digital espionage industry around advancing its geopolitical interests, particularly its interminable conflict in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
—Matt Burgess, WIRED, 8 Oct. 2023
The graveyard at Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, dotted with the green and gray of shrubs and tombs, has been expanded several times in recent months to accommodate the interminable flow of bodies.
—Abeer Salman, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024
After what seem to be interminable discussions and meetings, my colleagues and I go out to lunch, this time to Berkeley Social Club.
—Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 23 Feb. 2024
But Swift had recorded a gamma-ray bombardment lasting a relatively interminable 51 seconds — normally the signature of a very different type of cosmic drama.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Dec. 2023
This engrossing and disquieting memoir threads together the disruptions caused by the experimental socialism imposed on Venezuela by Hugo Chávez, who ruled the country from 1999 until his death in 2013, and the interminable tribulations of the author’s disintegrating Venezuelan family.
—Paula Ramón, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
We are meant to feel the interminable aspects of Mimosa's wild night out and empathize with her inability to escape this increasingly unhinged and dangerous world.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 5 Sep. 2023
At just a hair over three hours, the ceremony was efficient on paper, but felt interminable in practice.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 8 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'interminable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near interminable
Cite this Entry
“Interminable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interminable. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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interminable
adjective
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