inalienable

Inalienable describes things, especially rights, that cannot be taken away, denied, or transferred to another person.

Inalienable means the same thing as unalienable, which is no longer in common use. However, unalienable is closely associated with the phrase unalienable rights due to its appearance in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Thomas Jefferson actually used inalienable in early drafts of the Declaration of Independence, but the spelling was changed for the final draft. Unalienable was the preferred spelling until around the 1830s, but inalienable has completely replaced it in regular use.

Alienable is a word, but it’s rarely used. It means able to be sold or transferred.

Example: We work to make the founders’ words true—that everyone has the inalienable right to freedom.

The first records of the word inalienable come from the early 1600s. It is formed from the prefix in-, meaning “not,” and alienable, which comes from the Latin verb aliēnāre, meaning “to transfer by sale.”

If something is inalienable, it’s “not for sale”—it isn’t going anywhere. Regardless of its preferred spelling, the word has always been used in a legal context. It’s most commonly used to describe rights that people believe cannot be denied to them or taken away from them by their government. Such rights involve things other than freedom, such as the ownership of property.

What are some synonyms for inalienable?

• unalienable
• absolute
• inherent
• nontransferable

What are some words that share a root or word element with inalienable? 

• alienable

What are some words that often get used in discussing inalienable?

• rights
• Declaration of Independence
• freedom
• life
• liberty
• happiness
• guaranteed

Inalienable is closely associated with rights and the Declaration of Independence, even though it uses the word unalienable.

Stop saying my ancestors and elders died and fought for the right to vote.

Their fight was for the inalienable rights and citizen protections that voting was a pathway to. A means to an end. Not the ultimate goal.

— ashley yates (@brownblaze) July 30, 2020

You misunderstand. Handfuls of people comment on every NBA article with the same rhetoric & tired arguments against peaceful protest. If the flag represents freedom, equality, inalienable rights then the right to protest for those things is exactly what many fight for.

— Sarah Todd (@NBASarah) August 2, 2020

No force on earth can deprive the people of Jammu and Kashmir of their inalienable right to self-determination as promised by the world community through various UN Security Council resolutions #IIOJKUnderSiege

— Ali Haider Zaidi (@AliHZaidiPTI) August 5, 2020

Which of the following words is NOT a synonym of inalienable?

A. unalienable
B. inherent
C. optional
D. absolute