ineluctable

[ in-i-luhk-tuh-buhl ]

adjective

1. incapable of being evaded; inescapable:

   an ineluctable destiny.

   Synonyms: unpreventable, fated, sure, certain, inexorable, unstoppable, irrevocable, unavoidable, inevitable

ineluctable

/ ˌɪnɪˈlʌktəbəl /

adjective

1. (esp of fate) incapable of being avoided; inescapable

Derived Forms

• ˌineˌluctaˈbility, noun
• ˌineˈluctably, adverb

Other Words From

• in·e·luc·ta·bil·i·ty noun
• in·e·luc·ta·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineluctable¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin inēluctābilis, equivalent to in- negative and privative prefix + ēluctā(rī) “to force a way out or over, surmount” (from ē- verbal prefix + luctārī “to wrestle”) + -bilis adjective suffix; e- ¹, in- ³, -ble

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineluctable¹

C17: from Latin inēluctābilis, from in- ¹+ ēluctārī to escape, from luctārī to struggle

Example Sentences

Back then, today was supposed to be the official beginning of the slow and ineluctable ascent to the White House.

From The Daily Beast

He felt that in the face of every obstacle he was still the instrument of an ineluctable and incorruptible Justice.

From Project Gutenberg

Others he seldom felt called upon to judge, but if the instance were ineluctable, he was prone to an amiable generosity.

From Project Gutenberg

I am so bad that I am fleeing in a day or two—as I hope you will have been doing if your ineluctable fate doesn't spare you.

From Project Gutenberg

Nature herself is maya; natural science must perforce deal with her ineluctable quiddity.

From Project Gutenberg

She liked Evanthia because she had that ineluctable quality of transfiguring an act into a grandiose gesture.

From Project Gutenberg