inveterate
5
8.4
- adjective
- /ɪnˈvɛtərɪt/
- Formal
:
inveterado
- I was an inveterate and inventive theorizer as a child.
- an inveterate gambler
It was about primetime TV and she said her blurb was this inveterate non watcher of TV, you know, says bravo to this book.
- It was about primetime TV and she said her blurb was this inveterate non watcher of TV, you know, says bravo to this book.
Examples
-
The new immigrant women, like their predecessors and their male counterparts, were inveterate joiners.
Academic text (2003) -
The problem with you, Patsy, is that you are an inveterate snob.
-
Listen to what happens when an inveterate guest becomes a host.
Blog text (27) -
I am also an inveterate browser among the new titles in bookstores.
Academic text (2007) -
Turner was an inveterate traveler.
Academic text (2018) -
Like her father, Woolf was an inveterate walker and had an intimate understanding of London on foot.
Academic text (1995) -
Despite inveterate antagonism, the two countries have managed to cooperate over water resources of the Indus River.
Academic text (2008) -
I didn't read much until about four weeks post-op, and I'm an inveterate reader.
Blog text (19) -
In Britain, long the home of amateur naturalists, Tim Sparks compiles data gleaned from thousands of inveterate note takers, people he calls "closet phenologists."
Academic text (2004) -
Despite numerous failed attempts to quit smoking, he remained an inveterate smoker who couldn't resist the urge.
Synonyms
Antonyms
How Habitual
Surface Forms
Morphology
inveterate = veterate (opaque) = in + veter + ate
The prefix 'in-' here is not the productive negative 'not' for learners and 'veter-' is not a standalone modern English word, so the meaning 'long‑established/habitual' cannot be reliably derived from the parts.
Etymology
Inveterate comes from Latin parts in- 'in' and vetus 'old'. That is why an inveterate habit was thought of as 'made old', meaning a very old, deeply fixed habit, like something a veteran has done for a long time.