Meanings
- Not consumable;
- not comparableIncapable of being consumed, wasted, or spent by normal use.
All things that do not lose their substance by use are classified as inconsumable.
1912, Andrew Stephenson, A History of Roman Law3 more examples
WHEN the identical loan is to be returned, as a book, a horse, a harpsichord, it is called inconsumable; in opposition to corn, wine, money, and those things which perish
1785, William Paley, The Principles of Moral and Political PhilosophyIt indeed seems that compliments, words, and endearments, just like hoardable goods and inconsumable goods, can be considered here in terms of objects in circulation, caught up in a general system of exchange, be that system societywide or between individuals.
1993, Algirdas Julien Greimas, The Semiotics of Passions, page 70An importance of this classification to Lithuanian property law can be illustrated by the example that has already been mentioned in the context of the classification of things into immovables and movables—only inconsumable movables may be the object of the usufruct.
2021, Andrius Smaliukas, Property and Trust Law in Lithuania - not comparableIncapable of being consumed by any destructive or neutralizing force or act; indestructable; persistent.
ever still Burning, yet ever inconsumable:
1821, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Epipsychidion4 more examples
The only thing inconsumable is the surface of the earth.
1770, Sir James Steuart, An Inquiry Into the Principles of Political Oeconomy, page 360Among some rarities which Benjamin had taken with him from Philadelphia, was a purse made of asbestos, or, as it is sometimes called, amianthus; a kind of stone, which is not only inconsumable by fire , but so fibrous as to be separable into threads flexible enough to be compactly and smoothly woven; and the webs made of it, when soiled by use, are cleaned by putting them into the fire, instead of a wash-tub.
1848, Orville Luther Holley, The Life of Benjamin Franklin, page 91This, of course, is due to the countless and thirsty drought demons, who, with a thirst which is inconsumable, drink up all the moisture, so that the streams run low, the rain-fed water holes shrink to puddles, the green juicy foliage shrivels, and the earth herself gets baked, and parched, and hot.
1906, Arthur Glyn Leonard, The Lower Niger and Its Tribes, page 122As long as the Lord remains unchangeable, we are inconsumable.
2013, Zuriel Ann Murphy, The Spoken Word: 365 Days of Rhema, page 287 - not comparableThat one cannot consume; unusable.
We must think of that which is beyond what we can think, beyond what thinking can consume and beyond what is the inconsumable for thinking.
2004, T. Morton, Cultures of Taste/Theories of Appetite, page 1782 more examples
This possibility, in turn—one through which all impressions are left virulent and amorphous—would mark an extreme breaking point whereby knowledge itself is cast toward the inconsumable (i.e., an irreconcilable collapse of consciousness).
2010, J. Mohaghegh, New Literature and Philosophy of the Middle EastThus, so much of every product as is rendered by excessive abudance inconsumable, becomes useless, valueless, unexchangeable,—consequently, unfit to be given in payment for anything whatever, and is no longer a product.
2016, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property?
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Italic*n̥-
- Latinin-
- Middle Englishin-
- Englishin-
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
- Proto-Italic*kom
- Proto-Italic*kom-
- Latincon-
- Proto-Indo-European*upó
- Proto-Italic*supo
- Latinsub
- Latinsub-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁em-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁émeti
- Proto-Italic*emō
- Latinemō
- Latinsūmō
- Latincōnsūmō
- Old Frenchconsumer
- Middle Englishconsumen
- Englishconsume
- Englishconsumable
- Englishinconsumable
From in- + consumable.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
inconsumable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inconsumable
“inconsumable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inconsumable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “inconsumable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/inconsumable.
Source: inconsumable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.