inevitably

American  

[in-ev-i-tuh-blee] / ɪnˈɛv ɪ tə bli /

adverb

1. in a way that cannot be avoided or escaped; as will certainly or necessarily happen.

   All we parents can do is our best, and when we inevitably screw up, we know that tomorrow's another day.

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Other Word Forms

• quasi-inevitably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of inevitably

inevitab(le) ( def. ) + -ly

Explanation

If something is totally unavoidable, it is inevitably going to happen. Inevitably, the sun will come up tomorrow. The adverb inevitably comes from the negative of the French word for "avoid" or "shun." There are things you can put off for a while, but inevitably you're going to have to deal with them at some point, like telling your family that you crashed the car. No matter how free-spirited you imagine yourself, unless you are independently wealthy, you will inevitably have to settle down and get some sort of job, like writing and editing word definitions.

Example Sentences

"When you've got that many people coming through the doors inevitably there is stuff that is destined for the bin, unless we can step in and rescue it."

From BBC • Jul. 7, 2026

Viewers submit themselves to the rising interpersonal temperatures, unconsciously counting the minutes, waiting for the moment someone inevitably mentions the proverbial heat.

From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026

Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the delay was a "complete shambles" which would "inevitably" lead to staff working through their holiday period to finish end-of-year assessments.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026

But readers don’t need Orwell or Hollywood executives to tell them that “popular” inevitably becomes predictable and dull.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026

But a decade later, the rapidly growing prison population inevitably led to a deterioration in the conditions of confinement.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Related Words

• necessarily
• surely