inviolable
Americanadjective
-
prohibiting violation; secure from destruction, violence, infringement, or desecration.
an inviolable sanctuary;
an inviolable promise.
-
incapable of being violated; impregnable; unassailable.
inviolable secrecy.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of inviolable
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin inviolābilis; see in- 3, violable
Explanation
Wedding vows and vault combinations that can’t be broken are considered inviolable. (Of course, divorce lawyers and bank robbers consider this a challenge.) The word can refer to a physical structure (a fortress, for instance) or something more conceptual (human rights or morals, perhaps). Inviolable has changed little from its Latin origin of inviolabilis, which combines the prefix in- (meaning "not") with the verb violare ("to violate"). Inviolable turns up in religious settings too, usually in reference to texts or rites. In that context, it means "sacred." No surprise: the antonym of inviolable is violable ("accessible or penetrable").
Vocabulary lists containing inviolable
Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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Grendel
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The Articles of Confederation (1777)
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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.
In defending the inviolable status of Hollywood classics, Siskel and Ebert were taking a stand against messing with cultural artifacts.
From Salon • May 8, 2026
Under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, consular premises are considered "inviolable".
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
“They are turning on him, and it’s a sign of the inviolable trust being gone,” Madrid said.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2025
Later Spanish theologians, such as Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de las Casas, used innate reason to defend the inviolable humanity of Native Americans.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
Within Bengali families, individual names are sacred, inviolable.
From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
