inveterate
Syllables: in·vet·er·ate/ɪnˈvɛtəɹɪt/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/ɪnˈvetəɹɪt/
inveterate adjective: firmly established from having been around for a long time; of long standing.
Adjective
inveterate (comparative more inveterate, superlative most inveterate)
- Firmly established from having been around for a long time; of long standing.
- Near-synonyms: deep-rooted, ingrained, ineradicable, indelible, radicated, chronic, permanent
- an inveterate disease
- Synonyms:
- long-standing, deep-rooted, ingrained, ineradicable, indelible, radicated, chronic, permanent
- Having had a habit (usually a bad habit) for a long time.
- Near-synonyms: hardened, chronic, dyed-in-the-wool
- an inveterate idler; an inveterate gambler; an inveterate smoker
- Synonyms:
- hardened, chronic, dyed-in-the-wool
- Antonyms:
- casual, sometime, occasional, dilettante
- Malignant; virulent; spiteful.
- A man of mild manners can form no idea of inveterate revenge or cruelty[…]1748, David Hume, Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of morals, London: Oxford University Press, published 1973, § 15
- This his lordship perused with a countenance, and scrutiny, apparently inveterate.1765–70, Henry Brooke, The Fool of Quality; or, The History of Henry, Earl of Moreland
Verb
inveterate (third-person singular simple present inveterates, present participle inveterating, simple past and past participle inveterated)
- To fix and settle after a long time; to entrench.
- "the vulgar conceived that now there was an end given, and a consummation to superstitious prophecies, the belief of fools, but the talk sometimes of wise men, and to an ancient tacit expectation which had by tradition been infused and inveterated into men's minds."1622, Francis Bacon, The History of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh
- "none of these Princes do use to maintaine any armies together, which are annex'd and inveterated with the governments of the provinces, as were the armies of the Roman Empire. "1640, Edward Dacres, translation of The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, Chapter XIX http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15772
inveterate meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
inveterate in Tamil
- ஆழப்பதிந்த, வேர்விட்ட, நாட்பட்ட, நெடுங்கால, பழம், தீராத
inveterate in Urdu
- دیرینہ, جڑا ہوا, کڑا, پرانا
inveterate in Bengali
- বদ্ধমূল
inveterate in Malayalam
- incorrigible, confirmed, hardened
- ചിരകാലികമായ, ഉറച്ചുപോയ, ഉറച്ച, ഉറപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ട, സ്ഥിരീകരിക്കപ്പെട്ട, തിരുത്താനൊക്കാത്ത
- committed, staunch, steadfast
- അടിയുറച്ച, അചഞ്ചലമായ, ഉറച്ചുനില്ക്കുന്ന, ആത്മാർത്ഥതയുള്ള, അഭിപ്രായം മാറ്റുകയില്ലാത്ത, ചൊട്ടയിലെ ശീലം ചുടലവരെ പുലർത്തുന്ന
- deep-rooted, ingrained, deep-seated
- രൂഢമൂലമായ, ആഴത്തിൽ വേരൂന്നിയ, അടിയുറച്ച, അന്തർഹിതമായ, സുസ്ഥിര, പ്രരൂഢ
More languagesFewer languages
- inveterate in Kannada
- ಚಿರಕಾಲದ, ರೂಢಮೂಲವಾದ, ಬೇರುಬಿಟ್ಟ, ನೆಲೆನಿಂತ
- inveterate in Arabic
- مُتَأَصِّل mutaʔaṣṣil, مُتَوَاصِل mutawāṣil, رَاسِخ rāsiḵ, عَرِيق ʕarīq
Examples of inveterate in a sentence
- an inveterate traveller
- In Montpelier, where this prison stands, the inveterate prejudice against prisoners has been swept away.1911, Morrison I. Swift, “Humanizing the Prisons,”, in The Atlantic:
- "Say no more," interrupted Henrietta: "the very mention of that inveterate gossip accounts for every thing.1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 100–101:
- [S]he offered kisses to a stranger so confidingly that the most inveterate bachelor relented.1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “chapter 45”, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:
- Like many lonely people, he was an inveterate hoarder, making and surrounding himself with objects, barriers against the demands of human intimacy.2017, Olivia Laing, The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone, New York: Picador, →ISBN, page 6:
Synonyms of inveterate
- long-standing
- deep-rooted
- ingrained
- ineradicable
- indelible
- radicated
- chronic
- permanent
- hardened
- dyed-in-the-wool
2 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
2 more antonymsFewer antonyms
Forms of inveterate
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more inveterate |
| superlative | most inveterate |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | inveterates |
| present participle | inveterating |
| past participle | inveterated |
| past | inveterated |
Origin of inveterate
The adjective is first attested in 1528, the verb in 1574; borrowed from Latin inveterātus (“of long standing, chronic”), perfect passive participle of inveterō and participial adjective (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- (“in, into”) + veterō (“to age”), from vetus, veteris (“old”). Cognate with Italian inveterato, French invétéré. By surface analysis, in- (“not, opposite”) + veterate.
Words formed from inveterate
Questions about inveterate
- What does inveterate mean?
- Inveterate means firmly established from having been around for a long time; of long standing.
- What is inveterate in Tamil?
- Inveterate in Tamil is ஆழப்பதிந்த, வேர்விட்ட, நாட்பட்ட. See Inveterate meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use inveterate in a sentence?
- an inveterate traveller
- What part of speech is inveterate?
- Inveterate can be an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce inveterate?
- Inveterate is pronounced /ɪnˈvɛtəɹɪt/ (UK).
Words near inveterate in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: inveterate (page history and authors); inveterate (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inveterate (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inveterate (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); inveterate (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); inveterate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “inveterate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/inveterate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.