ineluctable

[ in-i-luhk-tuh-buhl ]
See synonyms for: ineluctableineluctably on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. incapable of being evaded; inescapable: an ineluctable destiny.

Origin of ineluctable

1
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

Other words from ineluctable

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

Words Nearby ineluctable

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

How to use ineluctable in a sentence

  • Back then, today was supposed to be the official beginning of the slow and ineluctable ascent to the White House.

  • He felt that in the face of every obstacle he was still the instrument of an ineluctable and incorruptible Justice.

    The Shadow | Arthur Stringer
  • Others he seldom felt called upon to judge, but if the instance were ineluctable, he was prone to an amiable generosity.

    The Clarion | Samuel Hopkins Adams
  • I am so bad that I am fleeing in a day or two—as I hope you will have been doing if your ineluctable fate doesn't spare you.

  • Nature herself is maya; natural science must perforce deal with her ineluctable quiddity.

    Autobiography of a YOGI | Paramhansa Yogananda
  • She liked Evanthia because she had that ineluctable quality of transfiguring an act into a grandiose gesture.

    Command | William McFee

British Dictionary definitions for ineluctable

ineluctable

/ (ˌɪnɪˈlʌktəbəl) /


adjective
  1. (esp of fate) incapable of being avoided; inescapable

Origin of ineluctable

1
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