incurable
Permanently beyond treatment
Incurable describes a disease or condition that cannot be cured or remedied: an incurable illness, incurable cancer.
Extended to people, it means beyond correction or reform: an incurable optimist, an incurable romantic.
The figurative use is often affectionate rather than critical.
As a noun, an incurable is a person with such a condition: a hospital ward for incurables.
Persisting over time
- untreatableCannot be healed
- terminalAt the endpoint
- degenerativeCausing progressive decline
- progressiveFavoring reform and innovation
genetic · autoimmune · neurodegenerative · palliative · congenital · hereditary · inoperable · relapsing
Cannot be undone
- indelibleImpossible to remove
- permanentFixed without end
- immutableIncapable of being changed
- lastingContinuing through time
enduring · perpetual · everlasting · unending · irremediable · unfixable · irreparable · unalterable
Continuing without pause
- stubbornRefusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
- tenaciousStubbornly determined to continue
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
unrelenting · steadfast · dogged · persevering · unshakeable · unflagging · deep-seated · ingrained
chronic
Persisting over time
- untreatableCannot be healed
- terminalAt the endpoint
- degenerativeCausing progressive decline
progressive · genetic · autoimmune · neurodegenerative · palliative · congenital · hereditary · inoperable · relapsing · advanced
irreversible
Cannot be undone
lasting · enduring · perpetual · everlasting · unending · irremediable · unfixable · irreparable · unalterable · fixed
relentless
Continuing without pause
- stubbornRefusing to change course
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
- tenaciousStubbornly determined to continue
unyielding · unrelenting · steadfast · dogged · persevering · unshakeable · unflagging · deep-seated · ingrained · entrenched
- invalidsinvalid, invalids, infirm, bedridden, incapacitated
- Danger Levelsdanger, high risk, high-risk, low risk, critical
- medical adjectivessurgical, cardiac, orthopedic, malignant, respiratory
- medical resultspositive, negative, normal, abnormal, inconclusive
- prognosispoor prognosis, favorable, unfavorable, guarded, grim
- STIschlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, herpes, syphilis
incurablecurable
Able to be healed
treatable · healable · remediable · operable · recoverable
incurablereformable
Able to be corrected
redeemable · correctable · reclaimable · saveable · savable
incurablefixable
Capable of being mended
remediable · reparable · repairable · rectifiable · solvable
- incurable diseaseUntreatable medical condition