incurable
/ɪnˈkjʊərəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪnˈkjʊrəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /(ˌ)in-ˈkyu̇r-ə-bəl/ (ame, mw)
incurable — adjective
- incurablepositive
- more incurablecomparative
- most incurablesuperlative
1. describes a serious illness or medical problem that cannot be healed or made to
describes a serious illness or medical problem that cannot be healed or made to go away, even with the best treatment available — the person will live with it for the rest of their life.
Dr. Okonkwo told the family that the patient's lung disease is incurable, but treatment can still improve her quality of life.
incurable + disease; be + incurable with palliative contrast
When the biopsy results came back, Mei-Lin learned that her condition was incurable and began planning how to spend her remaining time.
condition + be + incurable, used in a personal narrative
Although the virus is incurable, modern drugs can keep it under control so patients live for decades.
- terminal
stronger and narrower — suggests the disease will cause death soon, while 'incurable' simply means no cure exists
- untreatable
slightly different — 'untreatable' means no effective therapy exists, while 'incurable' means the condition cannot be fully eliminated even if treatment helps
- fatal
emphasises that the disease will lead to death, which is not always true of an 'incurable' condition
- curable
direct opposite — a condition that can be healed with treatment
- treatable
not a true antonym but commonly contrasted — 'treatable' conditions can be managed even if not cured
- reversible
describes a condition that can be undone, opposite of permanent damage
文法句型
incurable + [noun denoting a disease]
be + incurable
用法筆記
Commonly used with nouns such as disease, cancer, illness, condition, or infection. In medical contexts, incurable does not necessarily mean untreatable — many incurable conditions can be managed with ongoing care.
常見錯誤
2. refers to a personal quality, habit, or character trait that is so deeply fixed
refers to a personal quality, habit, or character trait that is so deeply fixed that it will never change — often said with affectionate or playful resignation about someone's nature.
Auntie Luisa is an incurable optimist who sees the bright side of every situation, even when things go badly wrong.
incurable + [person noun] — describes a fixed personality type
Kenji is an incurable romantic who still sends handwritten love letters to his wife every month.
Priya's incurable habit of arriving late made her miss the first three meetings of her new job.
- hopeless
more common in everyday speech; 'incurable' sounds more literary or dramatic
- inveterate
formal synonym that pairs with the same nouns (inveterate gambler, inveterate liar), but is less common
- incorrigible
emphasises that the person cannot be corrected or reformed, often with a tone of disapproval
- reformable
describes someone whose habits or character could change
- flexible
describes a personality that can adapt or change
文法句型
incurable + [noun denoting a person] (an incurable romantic)
incurable + [noun denoting a trait] (incurable optimism)
用法筆記
When applied to a person (an incurable romantic / optimist / pessimist / gossip), the tone is usually light-hearted or gently critical rather than medically serious. The word shifts from a clinical register to a playful or literary one in this sense.