Inexhaustible
What it means
Unable to be used up or worn out.
Reach for it when using emphatic praise for a supply, curiosity, or energy that appears continually renewed
Her inexhaustible curiosity kept the archive project opening new questions.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm |
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| professional | |
| literary |
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everyday
endless
Fits when the amount or duration feels without limit
Careful Endless is often exaggeration and can describe something tedious.
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everyday
Fits when no practical ceiling is visible
Careful Limitless can become empty promotion when physical limits exist.
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warm
Fits when a person's sustained effort deserves praise
Careful Tireless can romanticize overwork and cannot describe a material supply.
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professional
Fits when supply is plentiful without denying eventual limits
Careful Abundant is the more accurate term when exhaustion remains possible.
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professional
renewable
Fits when a resource can replenish on a relevant timescale
Careful Renewable does not mean use can exceed the rate of replenishment.
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literary
Fits when energy, affection, or possibility seems to have no boundary
Careful Boundless is lyrical and unsuitable for a measured resource claim.
Opposites 3
- finite
- depletable
- exhausted
Common phrases 4
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inexhaustible supply
The story imagines an inexhaustible supply, though the engineering note does not.
-
inexhaustible energy
His apparently inexhaustible energy lifted every rehearsal.
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inexhaustible curiosity
Inexhaustible curiosity led her from the first map to the oldest tax records.
-
seemingly inexhaustible
Her seemingly inexhaustible patience helped each apprentice master the join.
Usage notes
Keep in mind
For physical resources, inexhaustible is usually an overstatement. Renewable, abundant, or a quantified reserve is preferable when limits can be measured.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated