FromMiddle Frenchinevitable, fromLatininēvītābilis(“unavoidable”), fromin- +ēvītābilis(“avoidable”), fromēvītāre(“to avoid”), fromē-(“out”) +vītāre(“to shun”).
inevitable (notcomparable)
- Impossible toavoid orprevent.
We were going so fast that the collision wasinevitable.
1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, inTrains Illustrated, page99:To do the job thoroughly sentiment must be ignored and it seemsinevitable that the famous Great Hall and the Doric Arch will have to be sacrificed to progress.
- Predictable oralwayshappening.
My outburst met with theinevitable punishment.
2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, inthe Guardian[1]:Every break seemed dangerous and Falcao clearly had the beating of Amorebieta. Others, being forced to stretch a foot behind them to control Arda Turan's 34th-minute cross, might simply have lashed a shot on the turn; Falcao, though, twisted back on to his left foot, leaving Amorebieta in a heap, and thumped in aninevitable finish – his 12th goal in 15 European matches this season.
1912,Willa Cather,The Bohemian Girl:This horse and rider, with their free,rhythmical gallop, were the only moving things to be seen on the face of theflat country. They seemed, in the last sad light of evening, not to be there accidentally, but as aninevitable detail of the landscape.
Largely synonymous withunavoidable, slightly more formal (borrowed as a unit from Latin, rather than formed in English), and with nuances of anatural consequence that occursafter – “inevitable punishment”, “inevitable result”. By contrast,unavoidable has some nuance of existing circumstances – “I was unavoidably detained.” – without there necessarily being a cause.
Further,unavoidable has nuances of “could not have happened any other way, even if circumstances were different”, whileinevitable connotes “given circumstances, this is the necessary result.” Compare “the disaster wasinevitable”, meaning “sooner or later the disaster would happen (because theydid not prepare)” with “the disaster wasunavoidable”, meaning “even if theyhad prepared, the disaster would have happened”.
Often used with a negative connotation, but may be used with a positive or neutral sense offate, as in “Given our preparations, our victory wasinevitable.” in which case *unavoidable would sound strange, since something like a victory would not generally be seen as something to avoid.
In the same manner,impreventable andinevitable have different nuances. The sense “the disease wasinevitable” means “It wasnatural to suffer the disease”; the sense “the disease wasimpreventable” means “There wereno preventive methods against the disease”.
Thus, "inevitable" indicates "unable to avoid due tonatural or necessary matters", "unavoidable" indicates "unable to avoid due toincidental matters",impreventable indicates "unable to avoid due tothe absence of preventive methods".
impossible to avoid or prevent
- Asturian:inevitable
- Azerbaijani:qaçılmaz
- Belarusian:няўхі́льны(njaŭxílʹny),няміну́чы(njaminúčy),непазбе́жны (be)(njepazbjéžny)
- Bengali:অনিবার্য (bn)(onibarjo)
- Bulgarian:неизбе́жен (bg)(neizbéžen)
- Catalan:inevitable (ca)
- Chinese:
- Mandarin:不可避免 (zh)(bùkě bìmiǎn),總會 /总会 (zh)(zǒnghuì),無可避免 /无可避免(wúkě bìmiǎn)
- Czech:nevyhnutelný (cs) m
- Danish:uundgåelig,nødvendig (da)
- Dutch:onvermijdelijk (nl),onafwendbaar (nl)
- Esperanto:neevitebla
- Estonian:vältimatu (et)
- Faroese:óumberligur,óundansleppandi
- Finnish:väistämätön (fi),vääjäämätön (fi),välttämätön (fi)
- French:inévitable (fr)
- Galician:inevitable (gl),inevitábel (gl)
- Georgian:გარდაუვალი(gardauvali),აუცილებელი(aucilebeli)
- German:unvermeidlich (de),unabwendbar (de)
- Greek:αναπόφευκτος (el)(anapófefktos)
- Ancient:ἄφυκτος(áphuktos),ἀνέκφευκτος(anékpheuktos)
- Hindi:अटल (hi)(aṭal),अपरिहार्य (hi)(aprihārya),अनिवार्य (hi)(anivārya),अवश्यंभावी (hi)(avaśyambhāvī),नागुज़ीर(nāguzīr),लाज़िम(lāzim),लाज़िमी(lāzimī)
- Hungarian:elkerülhetetlen (hu)
- Icelandic:óhjákvæmilegur (is),óumflýjanlegur (is)
- Italian:inevitabile (it)
- Japanese:不可避の (ja)(fukahi no),避けられない(sakerarenai)
- Korean:피할 수 없는(pihal su eomneun)
- Latin:inevitabilis
- Macedonian:неизбежен(neizbežen)
- Marathi:अपरिहार्य (mr)(aprihārya)
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål:uunngåelig,nødvendig (no)
- Nynorsk:uunngåeleg,naudsynleg
- Occitan:inevitable (oc)
- Old English:unforbugendlīċ
- Persian:حتمی (fa)(hatmi),حتمیالوقوع(hatmi-ol-voqu'),ناگزیر (fa)(nâgozir)
- Polish:nieunikniony (pl) m
- Portuguese:inevitável (pt)
- Romanian:inevitabil (ro),neocolibil
- Russian:неизбе́жный (ru)(neizbéžnyj),немину́емый (ru)(neminújemyj),неотврати́мый (ru)(neotvratímyj)
- Slovak:neodvratný
- Spanish:inevitable (es)
- Swedish:oundviklig (sv),ofrånkomlig (sv),oundgänglig (sv)
- Tamil:இன்றியமையாதது(iṉṟiyamaiyātatu)
- Turkish:kaçınılmaz (tr)
- Ukrainian:немину́чий(nemynúčyj),невідворо́тний(nevidvorótnyj)
- Urdu:ناگزیر,اٹل (ur)
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predictable, or always happening
inevitable (pluralinevitables)
- Something that ispredictable,necessary, or cannot be avoided.
1831,L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, inRomance and Reality. […], volume I, London:Henry Colburn andRichard Bentley, […],→OCLC,page98:I pass also the jealousies, the quarrels, the disgusts, that make the catholic questions and corn-bills of married life—and only dwell on one particular: some irresistible hat, some adorable cap, some exquisite robe, has rather elongated your milliner's list ofinevitables...
2009 August 22, Murray Whyte, “Seeking successors to the Queen West gallery scene”, inToronto Star[2]:In the migratory patterns of the city's art scenes, there are twoinevitables: First, that neighbourhoods where art makes its home become instantly more attractive; and second, because of it, art won't be at home for long.
- “inevitable”, inWebster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.:G. & C. Merriam,1913,→OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney,Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “inevitable”, inThe Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.:The Century Co.,→OCLC.
- “inevitable”, inOneLook Dictionary Search.
FromLatininēvītābilis.
inevitable (epicene,pluralinevitables)
- inevitable
Fromin- +evitable.
inevitable m orf (masculine and feminine pluralinevitables)
- inevitable
FromLatininēvītābilis.
 | This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with theIPA then please add some! |
inevitable m orf (pluralinevitables)
- inevitable
- Antonym:evitable
inevitable m orf (pluralinevitables)
- inevitable;unavoidable
FromLatininēvītābilis.
- IPA(key): /inebiˈtable/[i.ne.β̞iˈt̪a.β̞le]
- Rhymes:-able
- Syllabification:i‧ne‧vi‧ta‧ble
inevitable m orf (masculine and feminine pluralinevitables)
- inevitable,inescapable,unavoidable(unable to be avoided)
- Synonyms:inescapable,insoslayable
- Antonym:evitable
