inveterate
- Having a habit, activity, or interest that is deeply established and unlikely to change.
In a sentence
- An inveterate traveler, he had visited over ninety countries before turning fifty.
- The inveterate gossip could not resist sharing the rumor with everyone she met.
Usage note. Inveterate is typically used for habits or personal traits, not for objects or abstract conditions; it nearly always describes something that has been persistent over a long period.
Where it comes from
English inveterate · entered English 16th c.
From Latin inveteratus ('long-established, chronic'), past participle of inveterare ('to make old'), from in- ('in') and vetus/veteris ('old'). It entered English in the 16th century, first in medical contexts for chronic diseases, then broadening to describe any deep-seated habit or characteristic.