inviolable

[ in-vahy-uh-luh-buh l ]

/ ɪnˈvaɪ ə lə bəl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR inviolable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

prohibiting violation; secure from destruction, violence, infringement, or desecration: an inviolable sanctuary; an inviolable promise.

incapable of being violated; incorruptible; unassailable: inviolable secrecy.

Nearby words

Origin of inviolable

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English word from Latin word inviolābilis. See in-³, violable

Related formsin·vi·o·la·bil·i·ty, in·vi·o·la·ble·ness, nounin·vi·o·la·bly, adverb

Can be confusedinviolable inviolate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for inviolable

If this degree of chaotic improvisation exists within Sochi, just how inviolable is that Ring of Steel around it?
Don’t You Dare Call Russians Thin-Skinned!|Liesl Schillinger|February 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Article 54 of the Kuwaiti constitution stipulates that the emir is “immune and inviolable.”
U.S. Challenge on Kuwait’s Death Penalty for Blasphemy: How Far to Intercede|David Keyes|May 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He told me that in business dealings a handshake was inviolable.
What the Richest Men in the World Don't Know|Barbara Goldsmith|January 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Neither the living nor the dead could claim him, he was both the one and the other, inviolable, inaccessibly himself.
The Rainbow|D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence

The unapproachable elegance, the inviolable security, have witnessed invasion.
Frances Kane's Fortune|L. T. Meade
We have not yet escaped the idea that vested rights—and particularly personal realty—are inviolable.
The Holy Earth|L. H. Bailey
Every German is master in his own dwelling, which is inviolable.
The New Germany|George Young
There is a spirit in the waterfall yonder, M. Belmont, which watches over her and the protection is inviolable.
The Bastonnais|John Lesperance

British Dictionary definitions for inviolable

inviolable

/ (ɪnˈvaɪələbəl) /

adjective

that must not or cannot be transgressed, dishonoured, or broken; to be kept sacredan inviolable oath

Derived Formsinviolability or inviolableness, nouninviolably, 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 inviolable

inviolable

adj.

mid-15c., from Latin inviolabilis "inviolable, invulnerable," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + violabilis, from violare "to do violence to" (see violation). Related: Inviolably.

inviolable

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of inviolable

Examples from the Web for inviolable

inviolable

adjective

inviolable