incurable
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Condition, etc, that is unable to be cured.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnkyooruhbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪnkˈjʊɹəbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.
figuratively
Irremediable, incorrigible.
noun
One who cannot be cured.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Of an illness, condition, etc, that is unable to be cured; healless.
Used this way, incurable is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It turns up most in medicine or healthcare contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use incurable
- “An incurable disease.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.