Invincible

How to spell invincible

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce invincible

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does invincible mean?

1. adjectiveToo powerful to be beaten, defeated, or overcome.

Invincible in a sentence

• The champion seemed invincible after winning every match that season.

• A strong support network made her feel invincible during the crisis.

Where does invincible come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin invincibilis, meaning 'unconquerable', which was formed from the negative prefix in-, meaning 'not', joined to vincibilis, 'able to be defeated'. That second part rests on the verb vincere, 'to conquer' or 'to overcome', the same root that gives us 'victor', 'victory', 'convince', and 'evince'. English borrowed the word in the fifteenth century, partly through Old French invincible, to describe a force or person that simply cannot be beaten. The spelling keeps the Latin ending -ible rather than -able, and the silent-sounding c that is voiced as an 's' is a direct fossil of the Latin vinc-, which is exactly where careless writers slip. Remembering 'convince' alongside it helps fix both the c and the i in the mind.

How the word is built

• in- (not)
• vinc (from Latin vincere: to conquer)
• -ible (able to be)