unavoidable
Americanadjective
adjective
-
unable to be avoided; inevitable
-
law not capable of being declared null and void
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unavoidable
1570–80; un- 1 + avoidable ( def. )
Explanation
Use the adjective unavoidable to describe something that you can't escape or avoid. Going to your family reunion is unavoidable if there's no way for you to get out of it. Obligations are unavoidable, since they are responsibilities that have to be honored. Letting your grandmother pinch your cheek is unavoidable, and paying your rent is also unavoidable. As you get older, it's unavoidable that your knees will get stiffer — there is no way to avoid having this happen. Unavoidable comes from the verb avoid, which is rooted in the Anglo-French avoider, "to clear out or withdraw oneself."
Vocabulary lists containing unavoidable
"Core Curriculum: Introductory Craft Skills," Vocabulary from Module Four
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Shut Up, This Is Serious
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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.
For all of sodium-ion batteries’ strengths, there is one arena where lithium-ion batteries are still tops, owing to unavoidable physical realities: the amount of energy they can store per gram.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The operator of the plant, whose four reactors built with Soviet-era technology are cooled by water pumped from the Danube, warned earlier that a shutdown was "unavoidable".
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
To the extent that significant unavoidable and genuinely catastrophic physical and financial damage to Florida crops caused by severe weather has not been addressed by other programs, federal help may be warranted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Injuries, such as those to Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Max Whitlock and Australia's Olympic backstroke champion Kaylee McKeown, are unavoidable and unfortunate.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“All right, I’m sorry I called her a screech owl,” Norton said, trying to avoid the unavoidable.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
