immeasurable

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

immeasurable (comparative more immeasurable, superlative most immeasurable)

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.
vast
- 2007, Terence Hunt, Longest-serving Bush aide resigns, 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

Bulgarian: неизмерим (bg) (neizmerim)
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
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)

anything that cannot be measured
- 2009 September 29, Madeleine Bunting, “Forget 'clients' and 'users' – public services are about people”, in Guardian‎:
  And inspiring good relationships is all about immeasurables: it is about inspiring purpose, compassion and attentiveness.

Translations

anything that cannot be measured