unavoidable
Americanadjective
adjective
-
unable to be avoided; inevitable
-
law not capable of being declared null and void
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of unavoidable
1570–80; un- 1 + avoidable ( def. )
Explanation
Use the adjective unavoidable to describe something that you can't escape or avoid. Going to your family reunion is unavoidable if there's no way for you to get out of it. Obligations are unavoidable, since they are responsibilities that have to be honored. Letting your grandmother pinch your cheek is unavoidable, and paying your rent is also unavoidable. As you get older, it's unavoidable that your knees will get stiffer — there is no way to avoid having this happen. Unavoidable comes from the verb avoid, which is rooted in the Anglo-French avoider, "to clear out or withdraw oneself."
Vocabulary lists containing unavoidable
"Core Curriculum: Introductory Craft Skills," Vocabulary from Module Four
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Shut Up, This Is Serious
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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.
The findings support an encouraging conclusion: memory decline is not unavoidable.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Since early last year, federal leaders have dismissed measles as benign and unavoidable and have spread misleading information about the MMR vaccine,” Racine said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
His firm spent 18 months researching the natural-gas landscape, concluding that a shortage is unavoidable by the second half of 2028.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Delivering the courts conclusions, Carr said "sentences of detention for X and Y were unavoidable".
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
In another time, if I felt it unavoidable, I would have presented the fact solely to mitigate the ill sweep of my own activities.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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.
