inviolable

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

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.

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

Related Words for inviolable

sacrosanct, holy, sacred, durable, invincible, stable, unbreakable, unassailable

Examples from the Web for inviolable

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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

Historical Examples of inviolable

I must instruct you in the laws they observe in their cups; laws sacred and inviolable.
Ebrietatis Encomium
Boniface Oinophilus
In this he had given me an inviolable fidelity to the very last.
The Autobiography of Madame Guyon
Jeanne Marie Bouvier de La Motte Guyon
Medina should be sacred and inviolable for all who joined the treaty.
A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihd'
Moulavi Gergh Ali
She had thought that people's private belongings, like their persons, were inviolable.
The Coast of Chance
Esther Chamberlain
Because he is a representative, because he is inviolable, because he is consecrated by the votes of the people.
Napoleon the Little
Victor Hugo

British Dictionary definitions for inviolable

inviolable

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

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.