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ESL forum > Ask for help > priceless, invaluable, worthy, valuable, worthless    

priceless, invaluable, worthy, valuable, worthless



newuser07
Argentina

priceless, invaluable, worthy, valuable, worthless
 
Hi!
 
I need help to get the difference/s among these words esp. priceless / invaluable.
Are they exactly the same? Could we use them to refer to somebody�s help/ a painting, etc? Maybe the context or collocations change the meaning....
 
Thanks in advance!

25 May 2011      





sirhaj
Malaysia

Priceless: refers to something that is so valuable that we cannot put price on it

Invaluable: it has no value

Worthless:  Not only that it has no value, it is useless.

Worthy: Refers to something or somebody that deserve merits, values due to the significance
              of the object or the person.

Sincerely,
Sirhajwan

25 May 2011     



benito21
United States

Just a quick note Invaluable is the same as priceless, rather than saying something has no value. Hope this helps.

25 May 2011     



hiyase269
United States

Actually, invaluable is a synonym for priceless, they essentially mean the same thing, however, invaluable usually refers to a situation or advice. Worthy, usually refers to a person and not a thing or situation, "He is worthy of praise." a thing- "The ring is priceless." a situation- "He gave me some invaluable information." �Worthless �, would be the complete opposite of all the other words.

25 May 2011     



sirhaj
Malaysia

My mistake, invaluable means it is very useful and it has the same meaning with priceless, quite. Sorry

25 May 2011     



dawnmain
United Kingdom

I dont think priceless and invaluable are the same.
as you say
priceless means it is so valuable that you can �t put a price on it
and
invaluable means it is very very useful

the Egyptian mask is priceless.
the computer is invaluable.

so they aren �t the same.

25 May 2011     



Apodo
Australia

Be careful how you use the word priceless and make sure the context is clear. It has another humorous meaning.
 
2. Informal extremely amusing or ridiculous
 
EG: Look at these �priceless � pictures.

25 May 2011     



Zora
Canada

When in doubt, check a dictionary or two... or three even!

Priceless and invaluable are synonyms. Both dictionaries I checked (Merriam and FreeDictionary) consider them both to be: " having incalculable monetary, intellectual, or spiritual worth". In fact, Merriam uses the example: a priceless piece of information.

Also, apodo is correct in that priceless also means "amusing" whereas invaluable doesn �t.


25 May 2011     



dawnmain
United Kingdom

this is from the Collins online dictionary

invaluable


If you describe something as invaluable, you mean that it is extremely useful.  adj oft ADJ in n/-ing, ADJ to n 
I was able to gain invaluable experience over that year..., The research should prove invaluable in the study of linguistics... 

in these examples priceless is not correct in my opinion.

what do others think?

25 May 2011     



newuser07
Argentina

Thanks a lot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

26 May 2011