First recorded in 1375–1425.
Comes from Latin, from the past participle of inveterāre, “to grow old, allow to grow old, preserve.\"
Inveterāre contains veter-, the stem of vetus, meaning “old,\" which is also the stem of the word veteran.
Sign up for more Word of the Day!

\r\nEXAMPLES OF INVETERATE\r\n

The inveterate procrastinator always left things until the last minute.
As an inveterate optimist, she always saw the bright side of every situation.

\r\nIt's National Poetry Month, and we’ve created a challenge that really is for everyone. Submit now!","audio":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/I02/I0281600.mp3","definitions":[{"partofspeech":"adjective","data":"settled or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, or the like."}],"examples":[],"imageUrl":"https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/inveterate_IG.png","accentColor":"#0063D7"}},"status":"succeeded"}},"meta":{"requestId":"I7kXh5RWblB7wV_hV0--2","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchWordsNearby/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"before":[{"slug":"microblade","entry":"microblade"},{"slug":"microblog","entry":"microblog"},{"slug":"microblogging","entry":"microblogging"},{"slug":"microbrew","entry":"microbrew"},{"slug":"microbrewery","entry":"microbrewery"}],"after":[{"slug":"microbubbles","entry":"microbubbles"},{"slug":"microburst","entry":"microburst"},{"slug":"microbus","entry":"microbus"},{"slug":"micro-cap","entry":"micro-cap"},{"slug":"microcapsule","entry":"microcapsule"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Microbubble"},"requestId":"l5W1jwAF23JSqmJgNOR6P","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"luna/fetchExampleSentences/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"tdb":[],"gbg":[]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Microbubble"},"requestId":"tWo6ODhWbxnJkvy0_yq9D","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchDictionaryResults/fulfilled","payload":{"slugs":[{"entries":[{"__typename":"Entry","audioPronunciations":[{"mpeg":"https://nonprod-audio.dictionary.com/NEW2016/microbubble_000/microbubble_000.mp3"}],"confusableNotes":[],"genderNotes":[],"grammarNotes":[],"headword":{"displayForm":"microbubble","slug":"microbubble"},"idioms":[],"orderKey":99999010,"ordinal":10,"origin":null,"partOfSpeechBlock":[{"definitions":[{"antonymsConnection":{"edges":[]},"definitionSetChunks":"[{\"type\": \"def\", \"children\": [{\"text\": \"a microscopic, gas-filled bubble, used especially in medicine to image blood flow, dissolve blood clots, etc.\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]","examples":[],"ordinal":1,"subdefinitions":[],"synonymsConnection":{"edges":[]}}],"inflectionSets":[],"labelSet":null,"ordinal":1,"partOfSpeech":"noun"}],"pronunciationNotes":[],"pronunciationSet":{"pronunciationSetChunk":"{\"type\": \"pronunciation_set\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.178b\", \"pronunciationGroupChunks\": [{\"type\": \"pronunciation_group\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.178c\", \"ipaChunks\": [{\"text\": \"\\u02c8ma\\u026a kro\\u028a\\u02ccb\\u028cb \\u0259l\", \"type\": \"text\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.178d\"}], \"spellChunks\": [{\"text\": \"mahy\", \"type\": \"bold\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.178f\"}, {\"text\": \"-kroh-buhb-\", \"type\": \"text\"}, {\"text\": \"uh\", \"type\": \"emphasis\", \"pointsTo\": \"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.1790\"}, {\"text\": \"l\", \"type\": \"text\"}]}]}"},"relatedFormSets":[],"sensitiveNotes":[],"spellingNotes":[],"synonymStudy":[],"usageAlerts":[],"usageNotes":[],"variants":[],"verbPhrases":[]}],"url":"microbubble"}]},"meta":{"arg":{"slug":"microbubble"},"requestId":"iO6cRkufu2tMRjlDMH9Ia","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchResultsData/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"url":"microbubble","displayForm":"microbubble","canonicalSlug":"microbubble","content":[{"source":"luna","entries":[{"id":"u3bb48a285cbafaf0.-3bc55cee.14d9e6eb1d1.1787","type":"normal","entry":"microbubble","entrySyllabified":"mi·cro·bub·ble","entryVariants":[],"homograph":null,"pronunciation":{"ipa":"ˈmaɪ kroʊˌbʌb əl ","spell":"mahy-kroh-buhb-uhl ","audio":{"audio/ogg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/lunawav/NEW2016/microbubble_000.ogg","audio/mpeg":"https://static.sfdict.com/audio/NEW2016/microbubble_000.mp3"}},"predefinitionContent":"","posBlocks":[{"definitions":[{"order":1,"type":"simple","predefinitionContent":"","postdefinitionContent":"","definition":"a microscopic, gas-filled bubble, used especially in medicine to image blood flow, dissolve blood clots, etc.","synonyms":"","antonyms":"","cites":[]}],"pos":"noun","posSupplementaryInfo":""}],"origin":null,"originData":null,"supplementaryNotes":[],"variantForms":[],"variantSpellings":[],"referenceData":[],"relatedForms":[],"confusables":[]}]}],"nearbyWordOrdinal":98516,"index-rank-01":["microbubble"],"index-rank-02":[],"index-rank-03":[],"index-rank-04":["microbubble's","microbubbles","microbubbles'"],"index-rank-05":[],"index-rank-06":[],"index-rank-07":[],"index-rank-08":[],"index-rank-09":[],"index-rank-10":[],"index-rank-11":[],"index-rank-12":[],"index-rank-13":[],"index-rank-14":[],"index-rank-15":[],"tunaSlug":null,"isFeaturedMetaSlug":false}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Microbubble"},"requestId":"Pyxm_MkCVw67qbkvUm-qg","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}},{"type":"fetchSpellSuggestions/fulfilled","payload":{"data":{"luna":[],"tuna":["microbe","improbable","microbes","microburst","microbic","scribble","crumble","improbably","probable","scrabble","ascribable","crossable","crucible","grabble","micro","make trouble"],"lunaWithSlug":[],"tunaWithSlug":[{"displayForm":"microbe","slug":"microbe"},{"displayForm":"improbable","slug":"improbable"},{"displayForm":"microbes","slug":"microbes"},{"displayForm":"microburst","slug":"microburst"},{"displayForm":"microbic","slug":"microbic"},{"displayForm":"scribble","slug":"scribble"},{"displayForm":"crumble","slug":"crumble"},{"displayForm":"improbably","slug":"improbably"},{"displayForm":"probable","slug":"probable"},{"displayForm":"scrabble","slug":"scrabble"},{"displayForm":"ascribable","slug":"ascribable"},{"displayForm":"crossable","slug":"crossable"},{"displayForm":"crucible","slug":"crucible"},{"displayForm":"grabble","slug":"grabble"},{"displayForm":"micro","slug":"micro"},{"displayForm":"make trouble","slug":"make%20trouble"}]}},"meta":{"arg":{"word":"Microbubble"},"requestId":"oIyvBqgbg5JJxEGXOp6Q7","requestStatus":"fulfilled"}}]},"actionData":null,"errors":null}

microbubble

noun

Word of the Day