imprescriptible

English

Alternative forms

• impræscriptible [17th century]

Etymology

From Middle French imprescriptible, corresponding to im- +‎ prescriptible.

Adjective

imprescriptible (comparative more imprescriptible, superlative most imprescriptible)

1. Not subject to self-restraint: absolute, inalienable.

   Synonym: imprescribable

   • 1794, Mary Wollstonecraft, An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution, II.4:

     Freedom is, indeed, the natural and imprescriptible right of man […] .

   • 1922, Carl Becker, The Declaration of Independence, page 205:

     its part is to exhibit the historical circumstances under which the colonists as a 'free people,' had thrust upon them the high obligation of defending the imprescriptible rights of all men.

Derived terms

• imprescriptibly

Translations

not prescriptible

• Greek: απαράγραπτος (el) (aparágraptos)
• Portuguese: imprescritível (pt)

French

Etymology

From in- +‎ prescriptible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.pʁɛs.kʁip.tibl/

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Adjective

imprescriptible (plural imprescriptibles)

1. (law, of a crime) imprescriptible, not subject to a statute of limitations, not time-barred

Derived terms

• imprescriptibilité

Related terms

• prescription

Further reading

• “imprescriptible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /impɾeskɾibˈtible/ [ĩm.pɾes.kɾiβ̞ˈt̪i.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: im‧pres‧crip‧ti‧ble

Adjective

imprescriptible m or f (masculine and feminine plural imprescriptibles)

1. imprescriptible

Derived terms

• imprescriptibilidad

Further reading

• “imprescriptible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025