Standard Lemma guide

incurable

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɪnˈkjʊəɹəbl/
  • US: /ˌɪnˈkjʊɹəbl/
  • Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N K Y UH1 R AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Irremediable, incorrigible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, not-comparable

Examples

  • an incurable romantic

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One who cannot be cured.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

incapable of being cured

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an incurable disease
  • an incurable addiction to smoking

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: curable

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

unalterable in disposition or habits

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an incurable optimist

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

a person whose disease is incurable

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sick person, diseased person, sufferer

History

Etymology

From Old French incurable, from Late Latin incurabilis.

Across languages

Translations

56 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: لَا رَجَاء مِن شِفَائِه (lā rajāʔ min šifāʔih) — unable to be cured
  • Armenian: անբուժելի (anbuželi) — unable to be cured
  • Belarusian: невыле́чны (njevyljéčny) — unable to be cured
  • Bulgarian: неизлечи́м (neizlečím) — unable to be cured
  • Catalan: incurable — unable to be cured
  • Chinese Mandarin: 醫不好的 /医不好的 (yī bùhǎo de) — unable to be cured
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不可救藥的 /不可救药的 (bùkě jiùyào de) — unable to be cured
  • Czech: nevyléčitelný — unable to be cured
  • Danish: uhelbredelig — unable to be cured
  • Dutch: ongeneeslijk — unable to be cured
  • Finnish: parantumaton — unable to be cured
  • French: incurable — unable to be cured
  • German: unheilbar — unable to be cured
  • Greek: ανίατος (aníatos) — unable to be cured
  • Ancient Greek: ἀνίατος (aníatos) — unable to be cured
  • Hungarian: gyógyíthatatlan — unable to be cured
  • Italian: incurabile — unable to be cured
  • Japanese: 不治の — unable to be cured
  • Japanese: 治らない (naoranai) — unable to be cured
  • Korean: 불치의 (bulchi-ui) — unable to be cured
  • Korean: 치유할 수 없다 (chiyuhal su eopda) — unable to be cured
  • Latin: insanabilis — unable to be cured
  • Latin: desperatus — unable to be cured
  • Macedonian: неизлечив (neizlečiv) — unable to be cured
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uhelbredelig — unable to be cured
  • Plautdietsch: onheelboa — unable to be cured
  • Polish: nieuleczalny — unable to be cured
  • Portuguese: incurável — unable to be cured
  • Romanian: incurabil — unable to be cured
  • Russian: неизлечи́мый (neizlečímyj) — unable to be cured
  • Serbo-Croatian: неизлѐчив — unable to be cured
  • Serbo-Croatian: neizlèčiv — unable to be cured
  • Slovak: nevyliečiteľný — unable to be cured
  • Slovene: neozdravljiv — unable to be cured
  • Spanish: incurable — unable to be cured
  • Swedish: obotlig — unable to be cured
  • Thai: รักษาไม่หาย — unable to be cured
  • Turkish: dermansız — unable to be cured
  • Ottoman Turkish: چارهسز (çaresiz) — unable to be cured
  • Ottoman Turkish: درمانسز (dermansız) — unable to be cured
  • Ottoman Turkish: علاجسز (ʼilacsız) — unable to be cured
  • Ukrainian: невиліко́вний (nevylikóvnyj) — unable to be cured
  • Hungarian: javíthatatlan — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Hungarian: menthetetlen — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Hungarian: megrögzött — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Polish: nieuleczalny — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: empedernido — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: de a tiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: de al tiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: dealtiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: deatiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: dialtiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Spanish: diatiro — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Ottoman Turkish: چارهسز (çaresiz) — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Ottoman Turkish: درمانسز (dermansız) — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
  • Ottoman Turkish: علاجسز (ʼilacsız) — figuratively: irremediable, incorrigible
Real reading context

incurable in complete knowledge articles