inadmissible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inadmissible
First recorded in 1770–80; in- 3 + admissible
Explanation
If something's inadmissible, it's not allowed or permitted, usually because it's seen to be irrelevant. Inadmissible evidence needs to stay out of the courtroom. While you can use the adjective inadmissible to talk about anything that's not tolerated or is objectionable, it's most commonly used in a legal context. In a courtroom, when evidence is declared inadmissible by a judge, that means it can't be mentioned during a trial — it's not relevant or valid. Inadmissible adds the "not" prefix in- to admissible, from the Latin root admittere, "to allow to enter."
Vocabulary lists containing inadmissible
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.
Jonathan’s lawyers said the footprint is inadmissible because the path was “never cordoned off and therefore contaminated,” making the mark “unsuitable as the subject of forensic-scientific examination.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
But polygraphs are unreliable and inadmissible in court, and Hatley maintained her innocence under further questioning.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
That evidence of so-called “officer-created jeopardy” was deemed inadmissible by Ohta last year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 21, 2025
But a judge ruled it was inadmissible and the case was dropped.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
“I believe,” concluded Scott, “if Congress should at any time be of the opinion that a state of slavery was a quality inadmissible in America, they would not be barred...of prohibiting this baneful quality.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
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.
