irresistible
Americanadjective
-
not resistible; incapable of being resisted or withstood.
an irresistible impulse.
-
lovable, especially calling forth feelings of protective love.
an irresistible puppy.
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enticing; tempting to possess.
an irresistible necklace.
noun
adjective
-
not able to be resisted or refused; overpowering
an irresistible impulse
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very fascinating or alluring
an irresistible woman
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irresistible
From the Medieval Latin word irresistibilis, dating back to 1590–1600. See ir- 2, resistible
Explanation
If something is irresistible, you have to have it, like the plate of gooey chocolate chip cookies sitting in front of a group of dieters who one by one help themselves to a handful. If you can’t resist something, it’s irresistible. Something is irresistible if it is so enticing, attractive, magnetic, tempting, or alluring that you must have it. You have no control — that's what all irresistible things have in common. From potato chips to bargain shopping or the urge to send text messages, when something is irresistible, it's hard to fight.
Vocabulary lists containing irresistible
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 6
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List 9
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-ible
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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.
This creates the irresistible illusion that dogs think like us.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Chief among the carrots is the promise of seemingly irresistible returns.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Here, “Tony” is in its element as Johnson crafts the intimidating yet irresistible camaraderie of a kitchen, and all of the misfits who work inside it.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Yet the trick of this irresistible groove is that it feels like a house party caving in on itself.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
For this aspect of their troubled genius Beethoven and his contemporaries had two irresistible fictional role models: Faust and Prometheus.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
