implacable
Americanadjective
adjective
-
incapable of being placated or pacified; unappeasable
-
inflexible; intractable
Related Words
See inflexible.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of implacable
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word implācābilis. See im- 2, placable
Explanation
An implacable person just can’t be appeased. If you really offended your best friend and tried every kind of apology but she refused to speak to you again, you could describe her as implacable. Implacable is derived from the verb to placate, which means to soothe, or to appease. If you’re babysitting and the kid starts screaming the moment that his parents leave the house, and nothing you give him, be it a toy or ice cream, can calm him down, he might seem implacable. But try the TV. It tends to turn screaming kids into silent, happy zombies.
Vocabulary lists containing implacable
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Grade 11, List 3
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More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The implacable fourth-wicket pair took full advantage of a pitch that just got better and better for batting.
From BBC • Apr. 6, 2026
Casting Hannibal as an implacable enemy of Rome from his earliest childhood merely served to assuage Roman guilt for Carthage’s terrible end.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026
I felt sickened by every piece of news I gave her—her court date canceled, the border closed, the pandemic spreading—but her faith in the system, and in me, seemed implacable.
From Slate • Jan. 15, 2026
But in its immensity, its implacable absoluteness, is a certain confusion between means and ends.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025
Most were gray-haired, faces lined with time and learning: they looked stately, implacable.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
