Word of the Day

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

indelible

\in-DEL-uh-buhl\ , adjective;

That cannot be removed, erased, or washed away.

Making marks that cannot easily be removed or erased.

Incapable of being forgotten; memorable.

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Quotes:

It was part of his image, indelible as the ink stains under the breast pocket.

-- Mark Childress, Gone for Good

In a sense, these years were like a blur of hunger, a time without roots or a sense of stability that made an indelible mark and colored his every move years later.

-- Marcos Bretón and José Luis Villegas, Away Games

It had been an indelible performance, an astonishing display of spiritual determination; he had done nothing less than give a clinic in what set him apart from everyone else in his profession.

-- David Halberstam, Playing for Keeps

Lore would have it that he lost only once before he drew an indelible lesson about gambling and life.

-- Sally Denton and Roger Morris, The Money and the Power

Origin:

Indelible is from Latin indelebilis, from in-, "not" + delebilis, "that can be obliterated or destroyed," from delere, "to blot out, to efface, to destroy."