invalid

1 of 4

adjective (1)

in·​val·​id (ˌ)in-ˈva-ləd 

: not valid:

a

: being without foundation or force in fact, truth, or law

an invalid assumption

declared the will invalid

b

: logically inconsequent

invalidly

(ˌ)in-ˈva-ləd-lē 

adverb

invalid

2 of 4

noun

in·​va·​lid ˈin-və-ləd 

 British usually  -ˌlēd

: one who is sickly or disabled

invalid

3 of 4

verb

in·​va·​lid ˈin-və-ləd 

-ˌlid,

 British usually  -ˌlēd,

 or  ˌin-və-ˈlēd

invalided; invaliding; invalids

transitive verb

1

: to remove from active duty by reason of sickness or disability

2

: to make sickly or disabled

invalid

4 of 4

adjective (2)

in·​va·​lid ˈin-və-ləd 

 British usually  -ˌlēd

1

: affected by disease or disability : sickly

2

: of, relating to, or suited to one that is sick

an invalid chair

Synonyms

Adjective (1)

• bad
• inoperative
• nonbinding
• nonvalid
• nugatory
• null
• null and void
• void

Adjective (2)

• ailing
• sickly
• weakly

Examples of invalid in a Sentence

Noun

Her husband has become an invalid.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Prosecutors, though, maintain the agreement never took effect and is now invalid. —Lindsay Whitehurst, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2023

Prosecutors maintain the agreement never took effect and is now invalid. —Lindsay Whitehurst, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Sep. 2023

Only Alito has claimed that any response by the people’s branch to the ethics lapses by justices is invalid and unconstitutional. —Norman J. Ornstein, The New Republic, 11 Sep. 2023

The unsealed opinion says Twitter, which is now known as X, objected to producing the information demanded in the warrant on February 1st, arguing that its accompanying nondisclosure order was invalid under the First Amendment. —Makena Kelly, The Verge, 9 Aug. 2023

The lawsuit claims that the failure to outline these initiatives renders the petition invalid, and thus cannot be placed on the ballot in November. —Zachary Smith, cleveland, 29 July 2023

Now, the Biden administration could focus one part of their legal defense on a 2020 DOJ opinion that took the position that impeachment investigations by the House are invalid without a vote of the full chamber. —Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2023

In 2016, an international court of law in The Hague, the Netherlands, ruled that China’s vast territorial claims in the South China Sea had no basis in international law and were invalid. —Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 28 Aug. 2023

Elrod, writing for the panel, concluded that the changes in 2016 were invalid because the agency had not conducted sufficiently precise studies on its possible effects for patients. —Matt Ford, The New Republic, 17 Aug. 2023

Noun

As these invalids made their way to Portsmouth, nearly half slipped away, including one who hobbled off on a wooden leg. —David Grann, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2023

Five hundred invalids from the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, many in their 60s and 70s, were ordered to fill out the ranks. —Mary Ann Gwinn, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2023

In 1944, Marta’s parents, Rudolf Beck, aged seventy, and Regina, a chronic invalid at sixty-nine, died at Auschwitz. —Andrew O’Hagan, The New York Review of Books, 13 Apr. 2021

See More

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

Latin invalidus weak, from in- + validus strong — more at valid

Adjective (2)

Latin & French; French invalide, from Latin invalidus

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1542, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1701, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1787, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective (2)

1642, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

invalid

1 of 4 adjective

in·​val·​id (ˈ)in-ˈval-əd 

: having no force or effect : not valid

an invalid parking sticker

an invalid assumption

invalidity

ˌin-və-ˈlid-ət-ē

noun

invalidly

(ˈ)in-ˈval-əd-lē 

adverb

invalid

2 of 4 adjective

in·​va·​lid ˈin-və-ləd 

1

: suffering from disease or disability : sickly

2

: of, relating to, or suited to an invalid

invalid

3 of 4 noun

like ²

 

: one who is sickly or disabled

invalid

4 of 4 verb

in·​va·​lid ˈin-və-ləd 

-ˌlid

: to make sickly or disabled

Etymology

Adjective

from earlier invalid "not having a sound basis in fact or reason, not valid," from Latin invalidus "weak"

Adjective

from French invalide "suffering from a disease, sickly," from Latin invalidus "weak"

Medical Definition

invalid

1 of 3 adjective

in·​va·​lid

ˈin-və-ləd, British usually -ˌlēd

1

: affected by disease or disability : sickly

2

: of, relating to, or suited to one that is sick

an invalid chair

invalid

2 of 3 noun

: one who is sickly or disabled

invalid

3 of 3 transitive verb

in·​va·​lid

ˈin-və-ləd, -ˌlid, British usually -ˌlēd or ˌin-və-ˈlēd

1

: to remove from active duty by reason of sickness or disability

was invalided out of the army

2

: to make sickly or disabled

a patient invalided by valvular disease

Legal Definition

invalid

adjective

in·​val·​id in-ˈva-ləd 

: being without force or effect under the law

declared the will invalid

invalidly adverb