incorrigible
adjective
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If incorrigible Is a Word, Is Corrigible a Word?
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.
Examples of incorrigible in a Sentence
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.
Rebecca Mead, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2025
Who was this alien observer, whose gaze made me into a (slightly) better person, whose gaze (slightly) reduced my incorrigible self-centeredness?
—Michael W. Clune, Harpers Magazine, 16 July 2025
They were joined by dozens of other performers across the rock ’n’ roll spectrum, from the hard-stomping Fleshtones to the incorrigible Supersuckers, to Tommy Stinson’s Bash & Pop, to the ageless Linda Gail Lewis — younger sister of music icon Jerry Lee Lewis.
—Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025
Even from beyond the grave, that man proves to be incorrigible in his audacity.
—Ayan Artan, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for incorrigible
Cite this Entry
“Incorrigible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incorrigible. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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