invaluable
adjective
Did you know?
invaluable = valuable?
Many people find it confusing that the in- prefix at the beginning of invaluable apparently lacks the meaning "not" found in a number of other words, such as invalid, inarticulate, and insane. In fact, the prefix does indicate negation, but in a way that is not immediately obvious. The original (and current) meaning of invaluable is "valuable beyond estimation"; the word describes something so precious that one cannot assign a price to it. This, clearly, is the opposite of the meaning "having no value; valueless" that the word might seem to carry. Invaluable actually has been recorded in the sense "without value," but such use has been exceedingly rare and is practically nonexistent today.
Examples of invaluable in a Sentence
Oliver Sacks, New York Review of Books, 25 Sept. 2008
… the scrolls provide an invaluable snapshot of at least one important strain in early Judaism—though they are by no means a complete record of Jewish belief at that time.
—Jeremy Lott, Lingua Franca, February 2001
I stayed there only a month or so but it was an invaluable experience … : that month's residence provided the inspiration for a novel I wrote much later, Sophie's Choice.
—William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, (1953) 1982
Their help has been invaluable to us.
the list of likely donors proved to be invaluable to our fund-raising efforts
Forbes.com, 1 May 2025
Per a release from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the chick’s successful development and genetics are invaluable, as the chick’s 55-year-old father only has one other living descendant.
—Moná Thomas, People.com, 1 May 2025
Adolf Tolkachev was among the CIA’s most invaluable assets during the Cold War.
—Katcy Stephan, Variety, 30 Apr. 2025
Experts say that cuts to one of the largest long-term studies on women’s health would be a critical loss, jeopardizing invaluable datasets and important studies already in the works.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for invaluable
Cite this Entry
“Invaluable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invaluable. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
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