Unendable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Impossible to bring to a conclusion or terminate
2. Incapable of being concluded or ended under any circumstances
3. Not able to reach an endpoint or conclusion, remaining perpetual

Etymology: "Unendable" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "endable", which is itself built from "end" and the suffix "-able", meaning "capable of being". Put together, the word describes something that cannot be brought to an end. The "un-" prefix is one of English's most productive, and it has long been fastened onto adjectives of this kind to produce a negative sense. The base "end" comes from Old English "ende", a word with Germanic roots that originally referred to the final point or limit of something, whether a space or a stretch of time. The "-able" ending entered English through Old French from Latin "-abilis", and it attaches to verbs to mean that something can be acted upon in a certain way. Joining "end" to "-able" gives "endable", and adding "un-" reverses that capacity, so an "unendable" task, argument, or process is one that offers no possibility of completion.

Synonyms: infinite, everlasting, endless, perpetual, ceaseless

Antonyms: finite, ending, temporary, limited, transitory