ineluctable

[in-i-luhk-tuh-buhl]

adjective

1. incapable of being evaded; inescapable.

   an ineluctable destiny.

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

ineluctable

/ ˌɪnɪˈlʌktəbəl /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• ineluctability noun
• ineluctably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineluctable¹

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; e- ¹, in- ³, -ble

Word History and Origins

Origin of ineluctable¹

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

Example Sentences

I, too, am drawn by this ineluctable desire to become sentimental about John and Paul.

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But our relationship took on an ineluctable momentum, and by October, I was pregnant.

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It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled.

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Associated economic theories about the ineluctable rise of worldwide free market capitalism took on a similar sheen of invincibility and inevitability.

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She drains the terrible scene of histrionics and elevates it into something concerning but calm, quiet, almost ineluctable.

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