interminable
13
7.5
- adjective
- /ɪnˈtɜrmɪnəbl/
:
interminable
- We sat through an interminable lecture that seemed to go on forever.
- interminable delays
- interminable debate
- interminable wars
I think people know now that you can't have interminable conversations.
- I think people know now that you can't have interminable conversations.
- What a boring, uninspiring, interminable waste of time.
- All right, we are almost at the end of this interminable process.
- Some interminable length could be months, could be the rest of your life.
- Hi everyone, it's Doctor Ramani and welcome to this seemingly interminable series, this glossary series of narcissistic terms.
- And the tragic sense of life is a sense for this interminable conflict between these, you might say, polarities of the human being.
- So the this is the man who's thought long and deeply about monopoly on those Boxing Day interminable contests.
Examples
-
After an interminable delay, the train finally arrived at the station.
-
She endured an interminable meeting that left everyone feeling exhausted.
-
All right, we are almost at the end of this interminable process.
-
The music stopped, and after an interminable wait, she returned to the phone.
Fiction book (2000) -
How can I escape my interminable task?
-
Oh, that first half was interminable.
-
For what seemed an interminable moment to Billy, Leo was as still as death.
Fiction book (1994) -
What we need in order to avoid interminable disputes of this sort is a second clause.
Academic text (1992) -
An interminable prologue in which all the key players are introduced.
-
One answer bleeds into the next, as interminable as the last day of school before summer.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
362
4.3
Lasting forever without end
350
2.5
Continuing for a very long time and not stopping
198
2.5
Happens all the time without stopping
109
3.5
Lasting a long time and making people bored
93
5.8
Lasting for a very long time without stopping
87
4.4
Boring and repetitive, making you feel mentally tired
69
3.9
Continuing for a longer time than usual
58
3.1
Continuing for a very long time with no end
39
4.5
Lasting forever without end
30
6.3
Happening all the time without stopping
29
6.6
Continuing for a long time, often longer than expected
27
3.7
To stay the same or work well for a long time
19
4.1
Lasting a long time without stopping
15
4.6
Lasting longer than needed and feeling tiring
14
5.3
Something that is boring because it has no variety
9
4.9
Not stopping or pausing for a long time
2
7.0
Makes you feel tired or bored because it is repetitive
1
6.0
Continuing without stopping
Antonyms
How Long
Surface Forms
Morphology
interminable = terminable (semi-transparent) = in + termin + able
The adjective is straightforwardly formed as 'not terminable', so its core meaning is directly recoverable from the base.
Etymology
Interminable comes from the parts in- 'not' and terminus 'end'. The same root is in terminal and terminate, so interminable literally means 'not ending', which is why we use it for something that seems to go on and on.