unalienable

[uhn-eyl-yuh-nuh-buhl, -ey-lee-uh-]

adjective

1. not transferable to another or not capable of being taken away or denied; inalienable.

   The Declaration of Independence acknowledged that all humans have innate, unalienable rights.

unalienable

/ ʌnˈeɪljənəbəl /

adjective

1. law a variant of inalienable

Word History and Origins

Origin of unalienable¹

First recorded in 1610–20; un- ¹ + alienable

Example Sentences

The senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "The United States remains committed to the Declaration of Independence's recognition that all men are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights."

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"The United States remains committed to the Declaration of Independence's recognition that all men are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights," a senior State Department official said on customary condition of anonymity.

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A nation that declared independence on the premise that men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights” finds its own existential premise skewed and even contradicted if rights are granted otherwise.

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The dead civilians have thus far all been foreign nationals, which is to say: excluded from our operating definition of human beings endowed with certain unalienable rights.

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The Saudi foreign ministry said on Saturday that it would not accept "any infringement on the Palestinians' unalienable rights, and any attempts at displacement," accusing Israel of "ethnic cleansing".

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Related Words

• built-in 
• constitutional 
• deep-rooted 
• deep-seated 
• essential 
• fundamental 
• genetic 
• implicit 
• ingrained 
• innate 
• instinctive 
• internal 
• intrinsic 
• latent 
• natural 

When To Use

What does unalienable mean?

Unalienable describes things, especially rights, that cannot be taken away, denied, or transferred to another person.Unalienable means the same thing as inalienable, which is now the standard term.Unalienable is no longer in common use, but it is closely associated with the phrase unalienable rights due to its appearance in the U.S. Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”Thomas Jefferson actually used inalienable in early drafts of the Declaration of Independence, but the spelling was changed for the final draft. Unalienable was the preferred spelling until around the 1830s, but inalienable has completely replaced it in regular use.Alienable is a word, but it’s rarely used. It means able to be sold or transferred.Example: We work to make the founders’ words true—that everyone has the unalienable right to freedom.