implacable
Americanadjective
adjective
-
incapable of being placated or pacified; unappeasable
-
inflexible; intractable
Synonym Usage
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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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.
Implacable gargantuans like Facebook will continue to war with it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 24, 2016
Implacable Resolution: The increasingly familiar chin-up, narrow-eyed Mussolini frown.
From The New Yorker • Aug. 12, 2015
Implacable, dangerous foes to be sure - but, again, existing even though the U.S. is already militarily dominant.
From Washington Times • Mar. 24, 2015
Implacable Susan Bickley sings the housekeeper Mrs Grose, Giselle Allen chills as the ghostly Miss Jessel and lovely Joanna Songi reprises her role as knowing, not-so-little Flora.
From The Guardian • Aug. 13, 2011
Implacable toward each other they surely were, but so long as their feelings weren't delaying their sailing days, that was their own business.
From Sonnie-Boy's People by Connolly, James B. (James Brendan)
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.
