Unable to be healed, fixed, or cured; a condition that cannot be treated or improved.
From Latin 'incurabilis,' combining 'in-' (not) and 'curabilis' (able to be cured). The word entered English in the 1300s with medical connotations.
The word 'incurable' has changed over time—diseases once thought incurable, like diabetes or certain cancers, became treatable, so the label is more about current medical knowledge than the actual nature of the disease.
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