Definition of IMMUTABLE

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Immutable comes to us through Middle English from Latin immutabilis, meaning "unable to change." "Immutabilis" was formed by combining the negative prefix in- with "mutabilis," which comes from the Latin verb mutare and means "to change." Some other English words that can be traced back to "mutare" are "commute" (the earliest sense of which is simply "to change or alter"), "mutate" ("to undergo significant and basic alteration"), "permute" ("to change the order or arrangement of"), and "transmute" ("to change or alter in form, appearance, or nature"). There's also the antonym of "immutable" - "mutable" - which of course can mean "prone to change" and "capable of change or of being changed."

Examples of immutable in a Sentence

the immutable laws of nature one of the immutable laws of television is that low ratings inevitably lead to cancellation

Recent Examples on the Web For the duke and duchess to forsake Britain and relinquish their royal duties, even for part of the year, will be a jolt to one of the nation’s most immutable institutions. — Mark Landler, New York Times, "Prince Harry and Meghan to ‘Step Back’ From Royal Duties in Extraordinary Retreat," 8 Jan. 2020 As the series vividly demonstrated, our soul-destroying traffic congestion is not like the weather — beyond our control, immutable. — BostonGlobe.com, "So said Governor Charlie Baker," 24 Nov. 2019 Bill McDonough, who has championed the concept of The Circular Economy for more than three decades, challenged the idea that entropy—the steady collapse of the universe—is an immutable law. — David Meyer, Fortune, "Designing a Sustainable Future: CEO Daily," 6 Sep. 2019 The advent of Donald Trump has upended much that once seemed immutable in American conservatism. — Daniel Akst, WSJ, "Conservative Iconoclast Reihan Salam Takes the Helm," 20 June 2019 But because transactions involving cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are recorded on a permanent, public, and immutable ledger, cryptocurrencies can actually offer unprecedented transparency into financial transactions. — Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "Bitcoin money laundering is a classically dumb crime," 5 Dec. 2019 And at capitalism’s heart is an immutable truth: however much a leader, worker, or founder thinks the oceans, or equality, or kindness matters, shareholders matter more. — Cassie Werber, Quartz at Work, "Danone is showing multinationals the way to a less destructive form of capitalism," 9 Dec. 2019 Long an immutable fixture of life, the dollar has become an obsession. — The Economist, "A long-feared currency crisis has begun to bite in Lebanon," 3 Oct. 2019 Across the board, writer’s assistants, production assistants, agency assistants, studio assistants and temps told of operating within an immutable system that enabled financial inequity — viewing it as part of the job. — Stacy Perman, chicagotribune.com, "Hollywood assistants who suffered poor pay and abuse are fighting back," 6 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immutable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.