invaluable
adjective
Did you know?
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.
Examples of invaluable in a Sentence
Oliver Sacks, New York Review of Books, 25 Sept. 2008
… the scrolls provide an invaluable snapshot of at least one important strain in early Judaism—though they are by no means a complete record of Jewish belief at that time.
—Jeremy Lott, Lingua Franca, February 2001
I stayed there only a month or so but it was an invaluable experience … : that month's residence provided the inspiration for a novel I wrote much later, Sophie's Choice.
—William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (1953) 1982
Their help has been invaluable to us.
the list of likely donors proved to be invaluable to our fund-raising efforts
ABC News, 15 June 2026
While that support can be invaluable, experts stress the importance of preserving a father’s autonomy.
—Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 15 June 2026
When executives go with salespeople, travel with drivers on their routes, spend time with field service professionals and experience other ways to drive along or sit beside the people interacting directly with customers, the takeaways can be invaluable.
—Shep Hyken, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Speaking from experience, having a driver was invaluable—navigating the rolling Tuscan hills in a huge camper van was certainly not something anyone in my family had the confidence to attempt.
—Lauren Arzbaecher, Architectural Digest, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for invaluable
Cite this Entry
“Invaluable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invaluable. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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