Invaluable

How to spell invaluable

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce invaluable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does invaluable mean?

1. adjectiveSo useful or precious that its worth cannot be measured.

Invaluable in a sentence

• Her years of local experience proved invaluable during the negotiations.

• The old map was an invaluable record of how the town once looked.

Where does invaluable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on 'value', which reached English through Old French 'value' from the Latin verb 'valere', meaning 'to be worth' or 'to be strong'. The 'in-' on the front looks like the ordinary negative prefix, but here it carries the sense 'not able to be done', so the literal idea is 'not able to be valued'. Something invaluable is therefore so precious that no price can be put on it, which is the exact opposite of worthless; this surprising logic is the main reason adults pause over its meaning. The word appears in English from the late 1500s, alongside relatives such as 'valid', 'evaluate' and 'valour', all of which trace back to the same 'valere' root. Keeping the spelling steady is easier once you remember it is simply 'in' plus the familiar word 'value' with its silent 'e' swapped for the '-able' ending.

How the word is built

• in- (here an intensive: beyond)
• valu(e) (worth, from Latin valere 'to be worth')
• -able (able to be)