Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Impossible to remove, erase, or wash away; permanent.
  • adjective Making a mark not easily erased or washed away.
  • adjective Unable to be forgotten; memorable.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not deleble; not to be blotted out; incapable of being effaced or obliterated.
  • Not to be annulled.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective That can not be removed, washed away, blotted out, or effaced; incapable of being canceled, lost, or forgotten
  • adjective rare That can not be annulled; indestructible.
  • adjective fast colors which do not fade or tarnish by exposure.
  • adjective an ink not obliterated by washing; esp., a solution of silver nitrate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective having the quality of being difficult to remove, wash away, blot out, or efface;
  • adjective incapable of being canceled, lost, or forgotten.
  • adjective incapable of being annulled

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective cannot be removed or erased

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Alteration of earlier indeleble, from Latin indēlēbilis : in-, not; see in– + dēlēbilis, capable of being effaced (from dēlēre, to wipe out).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Latin indelebilis "indestructible"

Support

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Examples

  • His favourite shirt had the name 'Jason' written in indelible marker on the inside collar.

    Perhaps Dave Hingsburger 2007

  • And if you are worried about people voting more than once, there's this handy thing called indelible ink that even third-world countries know how to use. posted by MN Politics Guru @ 13:38

    Archive 2006-10-01 MN Politics Guru 2006

  • And if you are worried about people voting more than once, there's this handy thing called indelible ink that even third-world countries know how to use. posted by MN Politics Guru @ 13:38

    George Will's Corner MN Politics Guru 2006

  • How she advised herself to that effect is more than I can imagine, but the print of her words is indelible, that is what she said.

    The Pool in the Desert Sara Jeannette Duncan

  • "The so-called indelible ink put on the finger of voters could be washed off at several voting stations (and) one mobile polling station in the northern Ohangwena Region, did not put the official stamp of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) on ballot papers, which makes them spoilt votes", Jesaya Nyamu, secretary general of RDP, told reporters.

    Channel NewsAsia Front Page News 2009

  • Presidential poll day sees low turnout amid bombings, fraud claims and 'indelible' finger markings that wash off ... wherein a voter turns up half an hour after casting his ballot with his finger washed clean.

    Afghanistan's big election day Alison 2009

  • Presidential poll day sees low turnout amid bombings, fraud claims and 'indelible' finger markings that wash off ... wherein a voter turns up half an hour after casting his ballot with his finger washed clean.

    Archive 2009-08-01 Dave 2009

  • Art books tend to favor "indelible," Dr. Schawe prefers "characteristic," and the Alte Pinokothek's own catalog uses "lasting."

    Staring Dürer in the Face 2008

  • I suspect that the pared-down McCarthy prose was aiming to result in that kind of indelible, perfectly crafted sentence.

    A Taut, Bloody Thriller, Philosophically Inflected 2005

  • I suspect that the pared-down McCarthy prose was aiming to result in that kind of indelible, perfectly crafted sentence.

    A Taut, Bloody Thriller, Philosophically Inflected 2005

Comments

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  • In Italy, we vote with indelible pencils.

    But...

    Today, during EU elections, I brought an eraser with me, and guess what? The pencil mark could be easily erased!

    June 8, 2009

  • Astonishing. Of course, that does explain a few things...

    June 8, 2009

  • By the way, the article talks about me (I called them and they interviewed me).

    June 8, 2009

  • Ha, I like the phrase le matite contestate.

    June 8, 2009

  • i'm tempted to ask my family and friends about what things they feel are indelibly linked to me?

    September 13, 2012