Word of the Day

: June 19, 2023

indomitable

adjective in-DAH-muh-tuh-bul

What It Means

Indomitable is a formal word used to describe something that is impossible to defeat or discourage.

// Juneteenth celebrates the end of slavery in the United States, and honors the indomitable spirit of African Americans past and present fighting for justice, liberation, and the fulfillment of this nation’s ideals.

// Her spirit remained indomitable even in the face of tremendous adversity.

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indomitable in Context

“In a life that has now marked 95 years in a country where she was born with every disadvantage except for the love and support of her family and her own indomitable determination to live fully for others, Opal Lee has changed her community. She has changed this state. She has changed our country. We are all better because she has been among us. … Through her life, and despite the terror visited upon her family, Ms. Opal has cherished and shared and spread the love and joy of Juneteenth whenever she could. And it is much to her credit that last year it became the country’s 11th national holiday. She is celebrated now as the grandmother of Juneteenth. And it is what the nation knows of her.” — editorial, The Dallas Morning News, 2 Jan. 2022

Did You Know?

At five punchy syllables, indomitable is an imposing word, so it’s inevitable that some are perplexed by this synonym for impregnable. But it’s not so tough once you break it into parts. The prefix in- (spelled im- before b, m, and p) means “not” in an innumerable collection of English words. (How many have you counted so far?) The common suffix -able means “capable of, fit for, or worthy of.” Combine those two English affixes with the Latin verb domitare (“to tame”), and voila: indomitable. Indomitable was first used in English as a synonym of wild, describing—appropriately enough—things that cannot be tamed, but over time the wildness associated with indomitable developed into a specific kind of invulnerable strength.