Inexasperable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a person who cannot be provoked into irritation or impatience, however trying the circumstances
2. Not able to be driven to frustration or annoyance, remaining calm no matter how much one is tried
3. Characterizing someone so patient or even-tempered that no amount of provocation can make them exasperated

Etymology: Before it meant "to provoke to anger," "exasperate" meant "to make rough." It comes from Latin "exasperare," from "ex-," an intensifying prefix, and "asper," meaning rough or harsh, the same root behind "asperity." The emotional sense grew from the image of a temper being scraped raw. This adjective is built from three parts: "in-," meaning "not," attached to "exasperable," which means "able to be exasperated." That is "exasperate" plus the suffix "-able." Its literal sense is "not able to be made rough," so the older physical image of roughening still lies beneath the modern sense of never getting irritated.