infinite

1 of 2

adjective

in·​fi·​nite ˈin-fə-nət How to pronounce infinite (audio)
1
: extending indefinitely : endless
infinite space
2
: immeasurably or inconceivably great or extensive : inexhaustible
infinite patience
3
: subject to no limitation or external determination
4
a
: extending beyond, lying beyond, or being greater than any preassigned finite value however large
infinite number of positive numbers
b
: extending to infinity
infinite plane surface
c
: characterized by an infinite number of elements or terms
an infinite set
an infinite series
infiniteness noun

infinite

2 of 2

noun

: something that is infinite (as in extent, duration, or number)

Examples of infinite in a Sentence

Adjective an infinite series of numbers She has infinite patience when she's dealing with children. There seemed to be an infinite number of possibilities. an infinite variety of choices
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The travel industry sells the Caribbean as a gentle paradise where the workers of the first world can escape to rest at last on the shores of an infinite resort. Carina Del Valle Schorske, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, or approximately 3.14 (its exact value is infinite and can’t be calculated). Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 That mental model or representation can be reasoned with and queried using our limited human memory, mental processing power, and access to data - rather than trying to literally store an infinite amount of raw data. Craig S. Smith, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Limit design features, such as infinite scrolling or notifications, that keep younger users online. Cristiano Lima-Strong, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024 No one could possibly memorize or store in their brain the entire infinite sequence of digits. Craig S. Smith, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 In one scene, an immigrant who is denied a visa vanishes into thin air; Alejandro’s own journey through the system is rendered as an infinite, architectural maze. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 2024 Amid her cancer struggle, her children Vi and Henry give her infinite joy. Kaia Hubbard, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024 That comfort wasn’t infinite, however, and the Cold War saw fierce fights over whether the United States was getting its priorities right. Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024
Noun
But harnessing that infinite flow in a way that produces an advantage over a rival is something else entirely. John G. Singer, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2024 Between songs and during costume changes, the screen transformed into a giant moodboard, most notably casting Beyoncé as a chrome cyborg plugging into the infinite, or a laser model being designed inside a computer. Julianne Escobedo Shepherd, Pitchfork, 13 Dec. 2023 A little more work with functions (see the exercises) can show that the set of all real numbers is the same size as the set of all the reals between zero and 1, and so the reals, which contain the natural numbers, must be a bigger infinite set. Patrick Honner, Quanta Magazine, 27 Sep. 2022 The rapid growth of AI and automation is undoubtedly exciting, offering infinite uses for driving efficiency. Brian Foy, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 How incommensurate with our small, breakable animal bodies — this awful, awesome notion, the infinite. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2023 Does that have anything to do with space itself being assumed infinite in extent? Steven Strogatz, Quanta Magazine, 26 July 2023 Kids don’t get time to just do nothing — to lay on the grass and look up at the sky into the infinite. Mikael Wood, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2023 Temporal lobe epilepsy is already associated with spiritual experiences, sharing certain features with spontaneous spiritual awakenings such as a strong sense of a cosmic, divine, or God-like presence or energy and a deep sense of connection with the infinite. Mark Travers, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'infinite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English infynyt, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French infinit, borrowed from Latin infīnītus "indefinite, having no limit, endless," from in- in- entry 1 + fīnītus "specific, definite, having bounds or limits" — more at finite

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of infinite was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near infinite

Cite this Entry

“Infinite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infinite. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

infinite

1 of 2 adjective
in·​fi·​nite ˈin-fə-nət How to pronounce infinite (audio)
1
: being without limits of any kind : endless
infinite space
2
: seeming to be without limits : vast
infinite patience
infinite wealth
3
a
: lying or being beyond or being larger than any number no matter how large
the number of positive numbers is infinite
b
: having an infinite number of elements or terms
an infinite set
infinitely adverb

infinite

2 of 2 noun
: something that is infinite (as in number)

More from Merriam-Webster on infinite

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