Incorrigible
/ˌɪnkəˈrɪdʒəbl/
adjectiveC2
Definition
Incorrigible means a person or thing that is very difficult or impossible to change or fix. Usually, it refers to bad habits, behavior, or faults that do not improve even after many attempts to help or correct them.
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See It in Action
Describing a person who cannot be corrected or improved
- •The teacher said the student was incorrigible because he never followed the rules.
- •Despite many warnings, the incorrigible child kept playing pranks.
- •She was known as an incorrigible optimist, always hopeful no matter what.
Describing faults or habits that cannot be changed or corrected
- •His incorrigible lateness made him unpopular at work.
- •The incorrigible errors in the report were ignored by the editor.
Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "incorrigible" like "bad" (A1 word), but much stronger—it means "bad and cannot be fixed"
- ✓Picture a child who keeps making the same mistake no matter how many times they are told not to
- ✓It's the feeling of frustration when someone refuses to learn or change, no matter what you do
- ✓Sounds like "in-corry-jible" → imagine a "correction" tool that just cannot work on this person or thing
- ✓Think of a character in stories who never changes their bad ways, like a stubborn villain or a mischievous trickster
- ✓NOT like "naughty" (can be corrected)—incorrigible means no matter what, the behavior stays the same
- ✓NOT like "imperfect" (small faults)—incorrigible faults are deep and unfixable
- ✓NOT like "stubborn" (just refusing)—incorrigible means the problem is beyond fixing, not just refusal
Try Other Words
- •Unmanageable: difficult or impossible to control (Use when talking about behavior or situations that cannot be controlled)
- •Stubborn: refusing to change (Use when someone refuses to change but might be able to)
- •Hopeless: impossible to improve or fix (Use when emphasizing no hope for change)
- •Incurable: cannot be healed or fixed (Use when talking about diseases or bad habits that cannot be cured)
Unboxing
- •Prefix: "in-" (not) + root: "corrigible" (able to be corrected)
- •Etymology: From Latin "incorrigibilis," meaning "not able to be corrected"
- •Historical development: Used since the 1600s to describe people or faults that cannot be fixed or changed
- •Modern usage: Often used for bad behavior, habits, or faults that resist correction despite efforts
- •Interesting fact: Sometimes used humorously to describe positive traits that never change, like an "incorrigible optimist"
Reflect & Connect
•Can a person truly be incorrigible, or can everyone change with the right help?
•How does the idea of incorrigibility affect how we treat people with bad habits or behavior?
Fill in the blanks
1.The teacher called him incorrigible because no matter how many times he ___ the rules, he kept breaking them.
2.When someone is incorrigible, it means they cannot be ___ or changed easily.
3.Unlike a stubborn person who just refuses, an incorrigible person ___ to improve at all.
4.She was an incorrigible optimist, always ___ hope even in hard times.
5.Incorrigible behavior often leads to ___ from friends or family.
6.The manager gave up trying to fix his incorrigible ___ at work.
7.If a habit is incorrigible, it usually means many ___ have failed to change it.