immeasurable

English

Etymology

From Middle English inmesurable, ynmesurable; equivalent to im- +‎ measurable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈmɛʒəɹəbəl/, /ɪˈmɛʒɹəbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

immeasurable (comparative more immeasurable, superlative most immeasurable)

1. impossible to measure
   • 1832, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Heath's Book of Beauty, 1833, The Enchantress, pages 12–13:

     Give me your hand, and in a few minutes we shall be in my own dwelling, amid those immeasurable deserts where only my story may be communicated.

   • 1960 March, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 175:

     There is also the former Great Central main line which, though it climbs to an almost equal altitude at Dunford, has the immeasurable advantage of electric traction.

2. vast
   • 2007, Terence Hunt, “Longest-serving Bush aide resigns”, in Associated Press:

     "His contribution has been immeasurable," Bush said in a statement. "I value his judgment, and I treasure his friendship."

Usage notes

Also used tautologically as a spin word to avoid stating explicitly whether someone or something had a positive or negative effect. It is a neutral term equivalent to neither priceless nor worthless.

Synonyms

• immensurable
• unmeasurable

Antonyms

• measurable

Translations

impossible to measure

• Arabic: لَا يُقَاسُ (lā yuqāsu)
• Bulgarian: неизмерим (bg) (neizmerim)
• Czech: neměřitelný (cs)
• German: nicht messbar, unmessbar (rare)
• Greek: ανυπολόγιστος (el) (anypológistos)

  Ancient: ἀμέτρητος (amétrētos)

• Gujarati: અમાપ (amāp)
• Irish: gan teorainn, as cuimse, as miosúr
• Polish: niemierzalny (pl) m
• Portuguese: imensurável (pt)
• Russian: неизмеримый (ru) (neizmerimyj), непомерный (ru) (nepomernyj) (unbelievably huge)
• Sanskrit: अपरिमाण (sa) (aparimāṇa)
• Spanish: inmedible, inmensurable m or f
• Vietnamese: vô bờ

vast

• Bulgarian: огромен (bg) (ogromen)
• Czech: nezměrný m
• Finnish: mittaamaton (fi)
• French: incommensurable (fr)
• Gujarati: અમાપ (amāp)
• Italian: enorme (it), immenso (it), incommensurabile (it)
• Polish: niezmierzony (pl) m
• Portuguese: imensurável (pt)
• Romanian: nemăsurabil m or n, de nemăsurat

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} onmeetbaar (nl)
• German: (1) ^{(please verify)} unmeßbar, (2) ^{(please verify)} unermeßlich (de)

Noun

immeasurable (plural immeasurables)

1. anything that cannot be measured
   • 2009 September 29, Madeleine Bunting, “Forget 'clients' and 'users' – public services are about people”, in Guardian‎^[1]:

     And inspiring good relationships is all about immeasurables: it is about inspiring purpose, compassion and attentiveness.

Translations

anything that cannot be measured