indefatigable

WOTD – 7 June 2009    

English

Etymology

From Latin indēfatīgābilis (“untiring”), from in- (“not”) + de- (“away”) + fatīgō (“I tire”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˌɪn.dɪˈfæ.tɪ.ɡə.bl/, X-SAMPA: /IndI"f{tIg@bl/
• (US) IPA: /ɪndɨˈfæɾɨɡəbəɫ/

• Audio (Northern California, US)

  (file)

Adjective

indefatigable (comparative more indefatigable, superlative most indefatigable)

1. Extremely persistent and untiring.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, Book XVIII, chapter 4

     […] but he was at the same time an excellent scholar, and most indefatigable in teaching the two lads.

   • 1898, H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, Book 1, ch. 8:

     All night long the Martians were hammering and stirring, sleepless, indefatigable, at work upon the machines they were making ready, and ever and again a puff of greenish-white smoke whirled up to the starlit sky.

Synonyms

• inexhaustible, tireless, unflagging, unsinkable, untiring, unwearying,

Antonyms

• defatigable (much less common)

Derived terms

• indefatigably
• indefatigability
• indefatigableness

Translations

extremely persistent and untiring

• Arabic: ‏لا يتعب (ar) (la-ityb)
• Armenian: անխոնջ (hy) (anxonǰ), չհոգնող (hy) (čhognoġ)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不倦 (cmn) (bùjuàn)

• Czech: neúnavný (cs) m
• Dutch: onvermoeibaar (nl), onvermoeid (nl)
• Finnish: uupumaton (fi), väsymätön (fi)
• French: infatigable (fr)
• German: unermüdlich (de)
• Greek: ακούραστος (el) (akúrastos)
• Hebrew: לא מתעיף (he) (la' mth'if)

• Hungarian: fáradhatatlan (hu), kitartó (hu)
• Italian: infaticabile (it)
• Macedonian: неуморен (mk) (neúmoren) m, безуморен (mk) (bezúmoren) m
• Norwegian: utrøttelig (no)
• Portuguese: infatigável (pt)
• Russian: неутомимый (ru) (neutomímyj), неустанный (ru) (neustánnyj), упорный (ru) (upórnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: do-shàrachaidh (gd)
• Spanish: incansable (es), infatigable (es)
• Swedish: outtröttlig (sv)
• Ukrainian: невтомний (uk) (nevtomyj), неослабний (uk) (neoslabnyj)