inexorably
Americanadverb
Etymology
Origin of inexorably
Explanation
Something that behaves inexorably is unmovable, not persuadable, or relentless: like your heart beating inexorably as the rollercoaster climbs inexorably up the hill. Like a runner heading toward the finish line or a story spiraling to an end, the adverb inexorably is for things that have momentum and just keep going. A boulder falling down a mountain is moving inexorably. If you fail class after class, you're moving inexorably toward flunking out of school. People are always aging, and we're all moving inexorably (though slowly) toward death. This is a strong word for powerful events and forces that just won't stop.
Vocabulary lists containing inexorably
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Just Mercy
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The Hot Zone
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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.
There’s also the risk that inexorably rising temperatures will disrupt the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
History is not a world-spirit moving inexorably towards some breezy, sunlit upland of wisdom.
From Salon ● Mar. 28, 2026
At present, two of the biggest concerns weighing on investors are inexorably tied to the AI trade, and both are likely to be intensified by a blowout earnings report from Nvidia.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
Faulkner found it in the patient, steadfast Dilsey of “The Sound and the Fury,” and in his greatest novel, “Absalom, Absalom!” he showed how its absence led inexorably to the ruin of Thomas Sutpen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Because the aids virus’s penetration of the human species was still in its early stages, and the penetration was happening inexorably.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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.
