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/, SAMPA: /IndI"f{tIg@bl/
• (US) IPA: /ɪndɨˈfæɾɨɡəbəɫ/

• Audio (US, Northern California)

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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, untiring, unwearying, unflagging

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 (zh) (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), упроный (ru) (upórnyj) Scottish Gaelic: do-shàrachaidh (gd) Spanish: incansable (es), infatigable (es) Swedish: outtröttlig (sv) Ukrainian: невтомний (uk) (nevtomyj), неослабний (uk) (neoslabnyj)