ineluctable

[ in-i-luhk-tuh-buhl ]

See synonyms for ineluctable on Thesaurus.com

adjective

incapable of being evaded; inescapable: an ineluctable destiny.

Origin of ineluctable

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; see e-¹, in-³, -ble

Other words for ineluctable

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

See synonyms for ineluctable on Thesaurus.com

Other words from ineluctable

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ineluctable in a sentence

And the Ukrainian army, slowly, uncertainly, but ineluctably, is closing in on this besieged ghost-town of a city.
Shakeup In the Ukraine Rebel High Command | Jamie Dettmer | August 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
If a strike leads ineluctably toward the kinds of things Andrew discusses above, war-weary Americans won't forget how it started.
Does Bibi Have the American People Hypnotized or Something? | Michael Tomasky | September 17, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
And while any individual ruling can always be justified or explained away, a larger truth emerges ineluctably from the whole.
Impeach the Supreme Court Justices If They Overturn Health-Care Law | David R. Dow | April 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Conservatives will claim that when people see the world as it is, they move ineluctably to the right.
The Big Goodbye: Why Some Abandon the Right | Michael Tomasky | May 31, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
However, Harwood found himself ineluctably drawn into the state campaign that fall.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith Nicholson

If I fell over a cliff that beetles o'er his base, fell through the nebeneinander ineluctably!
Ulysses | James Joyce
The grim thought came to her that she had ineluctably become a valuable operative in the interests of the Vose-Mern agency.
Joan of Arc of the North Woods | Holman Day
Self which it itself was ineluctably preconditioned to become.
Ulysses | James Joyce
However one looks at it, one sees the human couple re-establish itself ineluctably.
The Natural Philosophy of Love | Remy de Gourmont

British Dictionary definitions for ineluctable

ineluctable

/ (ˌɪnɪˈlʌktəbəl) /

adjective

(esp of fate) incapable of being avoided; inescapable

Origin of ineluctable

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

Derived forms of ineluctable

ineluctability, noun
ineluctably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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