Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

inexpiable

[in-eks-pee-uh-buh l]
See more synonyms for inexpiable on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. not to be expiated; not allowing for expiation or atonement: an inexpiable crime.
  2. Obsolete. implacable: inexpiable hate.
Show More

Origin of inexpiable

From the Latin word inexpiābilis, dating back to 1560–70. See in-3, expiable
Related formsin·ex·pi·a·ble·ness, nounin·ex·pi·a·bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inexpiable

Historical Examples

  • A new Ahasuerus, cursed by inexpiable crime, yet sustained by a great purpose.

    Green Mansions

    W. H. Hudson

  • Where, then, was the inexpiable crime of those who fulfilled the beneficent intention?

    Tancred

    Benjamin Disraeli

  • There were stories of inexpiable crimes, but stories also of guilt that seemed successful.

    Romola

    George Eliot

  • Yes, yes; it was terrible guilt, an inexpiable crime, and she feels it to be so.

    The Marble Faun, Volume I.

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • Yet the error was not inexpiable; and in his expiation he could put the seal to his devotion.

    Ragged Lady, Complete

    William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for inexpiable

inexpiable

adjective
  1. incapable of being expiated; unpardonable
  2. archaic implacable
Show More
Derived Formsinexpiableness, nouninexpiably, 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

Word Origin and History for inexpiable

adj.

1560s, from Latin inexpiabilis "that cannot be atoned for," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + expiabilis, from expiare (see expiation).

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper