invaluable
adjective
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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.
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
Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The vivid recollections of Harris, who’s now 93, are invaluable to the documentary, says Ferrari.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 9 Apr. 2024
This acquisition not only expands Karat Home's footprint but also provides invaluable insights into high-end consumers and market trends.
—Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2024
Realizing that cybersecurity is everyone’s business, the book is devoid of complicated tech terminology and industry-specific jargon, making extensive and invaluable knowledge accessible to non-tech individuals.
—Tyler Shepherd, USA TODAY, 8 Apr. 2024
Now 100 years old, EEG remains an invaluable window into the activity of the brain.
—Giridhar Kalamangalam, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Yet even as Imax has become invaluable to filmmakers like Villeneuve and Nolan, the company struggles to get respect from Wall Street.
—Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
For new bowhunters and youth hunters, a hub-style ground blind is invaluable.
—Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 3 Apr. 2024
The efforts are part of a long history of attempts to gather invaluable data and observations when the moon temporarily blocks the sun’s light.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'invaluable.' 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
“Invaluable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invaluable. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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