Definition of INCORRIGIBLES (original) (raw)
: incapable of being corrected or amended: such as
Did you know?
Incorrigible has been part of English since the 14th century. Back then, it was used to describe people who were morally depraved, but now it is most often applied to people who merely have bad habits. Is there a "corrigible?" Yes, indeed, we've used "corrigible" in the sense of "capable of being set right; reparable" (as in "a corrigible defect" and "a corrigible sinner") since the 15th century. Both words are from Latin corrigere, which means "to correct" and which is also the source of our word correct.
Synonyms
Examples of incorrigible in a Sentence
The incorrigible maleness of men is a standing rebuke to the Rousseau-inspired notions of human moral plasticity that are central to liberalism. —
Richard Lowry, National Review, 3 July 2000 At the heart of Roosevelt's style in foreign affairs was a certain incorrigible amateurism. His off-the-cuff improvisations, his airy tendency to throw out half-baked ideas, caused others to underrate his continuity of purpose … —Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., American Heritage, May/June 1994 Eating fugu … is an exotic custom that probably would appeal to every incorrigible mountain climber, skydiver and bungee-jumper in America. Why? The fugu is poisonous—and there's no antidote. —Max Friedman, Vegetarian Times, October 1993 Yes, this is a book about America … all seen through the fairy-book life of an incorrigible kid, abandoned by his parents and brought up in a reformatory … —Stephen Jay Gould, New York Times Book Review, 7 May 1989
an incorrigible habit of playing practical jokes He is always the class clown and his teachers say he is incorrigible.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For those who know Celine, two things repeatedly come to mind: her irrepressible smile and her incorrigible fight. —Megan Feringa, The Athletic, 2 Jan. 2025 Winning Is Everything, Stupid, by Matt Tyrnauer, goes deep into what shaped James Carville’s incorrigible character, including his Catholic, working-class youth in Carville—a Louisiana town with fewer than 900 inhabitants, almost half of them inmates at the local leper colony. —airmail.news, 3 Oct. 2024 So if Vegas is the accomplished old sibling that everyone wants to be like, and Utah is the incorrigible youngster doing it its own way, that would make the Kraken the middle child of the group. —Sean McIndoe, The Athletic, 1 July 2024 Trump’s parents shipped their incorrigible second son off to military school 90 minutes outside New York City just after his 13th birthday. —James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for incorrigible 
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Late Latin incorrigibilis, from Latin in- + corrigere to correct — more at correct
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of incorrigible was in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near incorrigible
Cite this Entry
“Incorrigible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incorrigible. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.
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Last Updated: 13 Jan 2025 - Updated example sentences
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