Origin: Latin suffix -able
Invaluable has 2 different meanings across 1 category:
having incalculable monetary, intellectual, or spiritual worth
"The old family recipes were invaluable to her as they held irreplaceable cultural wisdom that could never be bought in a store."
Of great value; costly, precious, priceless.
"The time she spent mentoring me was invaluable to my success."
In plain English: Invaluable means something is so useful that it cannot be measured by money, even though people often mistakenly think it means having no value at all.
"Her advice was invaluable in helping me solve the problem quickly."
Usage: Although logically contradictory to its literal meaning, this word is standardly used to mean extremely valuable rather than having no value at all. Avoid using it when you intend to describe something that cannot be valued because it is free or worthless.
The word invaluable comes from combining the prefix in- with valuable. It originally meant "not having value," though it is now commonly used to describe something so precious that its worth cannot be measured.