Literary notes about indelible (AI summary)
Writers often employ "indelible" to connote an impression or mark that is permanently etched into memory or character, evoking a sense of irrevocable permanence. It can describe both the transcendent and the tangible—from an unforgettable tale that forever lingers in the mind [1, 2] to physical marks such as a stain of ink that cannot be washed away [3, 4]. The word is also invoked to illustrate the inextinguishable nature of reputation or shame, as when a commander’s dark legacy is branded on history [5, 6] or when an act leaves behind an everlasting scar on a soul [7, 8]. In literature, "indelible" becomes a versatile vehicle, seamlessly linking abstract emotions and concrete evidence of time’s unyielding passage [9, 10].
- The mysterious strength of this profound and passionate story made an indelible impression upon my mind.
— from My Life — Volume 1 by Richard Wagner - It was never published, but I saw it once and it made an indelible impression on my mind.
— from Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small Town Life by Sherwood Anderson - Indelible Marking Ink, without Preparation.
— from The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness by Florence Hartley - She tripped and fell, and the ink was spilled—a large, indelible, angry black spot on the clean white step.
— from Brittany by Dorothy Menpes - This Proctor, the British commander, had already branded himself with indelible infamy at the battle of the River Raisin, in January of the same year.
— from Tales, Traditions and Romance of Border and Revolutionary Times by Edward Sylvester Ellis - In their eyes, a retreat is a shameful flight; and flight is indelible infamy."
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - But the reproach of cruelty, so repugnant even to her softer vices, has left an indelible stain on the memory of Theodora.
— from The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon - The blow would not have prostrated him, but the bruise would have remained on his heart, indelible, not to be healed but by death.
— from Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope - I wished to fix an indelible impression of it in my mind.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - Niagara was at once stamped upon my heart, an Image of Beauty; to remain there, changeless and indelible, until its pulses cease to beat, for ever.
— from American Notes by Charles Dickens
