infinite

infinite, infinitely

are derived from the Latin word infinitus meaning ‘without limit’ (Latin finis ‘end’), and this is the proper meaning of these words in English. In practice, however, they tend to be used in the weaker senses ‘very great’ and ‘very much’; this use is acceptable in informal English but is best replaced in more formal contexts by alternatives such as extensive, vast, substantial, considerable, immense, enormous, or in some cases even simply great or huge (or their adverbial equivalents). Examples:

• The infinite variety of Chinese food, with classic dishes such as Peking duck and shark's fin soup —Country Life, 1973

• Embassy Court, a crumbling, rust-streaked, 11-storey apartment block on the Brighton seafront, looks infinitely better now you can see less of it —Guardian, 2004.

When smallness of size or number is meant, infinitesimal and infinitesimally are preferable, when one of the simpler words given above will not do:

• She worked crouching down, and the infinitesimal pace of her labours made her feel like an ant, toiling away earnestly at a microscopic task —J. Rogers, 1990

• ‘String theory’ explains this by postulating that all matter is aligned in infinitely long strings, of infinitessimally small width, which vibrate like the strings of a cello —Times, 2002.