-
Trending Now:
More Trending:
- scaramouch non sequitur admiral's mast calumny kakistocracy
- ALL
Definition of inalienable
: incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred inalienable rights
Explore M-W
inalienable was our Word of the Day on 07/04/2017. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
Recent Examples of inalienable from the Web
-
Before any of those festivities got underway, hundreds gathered at Worthy Park (adjacent to Huntington Beach High School) to exercise their inalienable rights.
-
The majority should never be able to deprive the minority of their inalienable rights.
-
As advocates have been arguing for decades, anyone else's opinions about other people's inalienable rights don't matter.
-
To ride the train home without being assaulted because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs, is an inalienable right.
-
A day of remembrance and appreciation for ALL who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our inalienable rights #
-
Life is the first inalienable right, a natural right listed in our Declaration of Independence.
-
Hong Kong’s Basic Law that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China.
-
Ask, in this case: Does the individual have the inalienable right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness absolutely, without responsibility for the rest of society?
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inalienable'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Alien, "alienable," "inalienable" - it's easy enough to see the Latin word alius, meaning "other," at the root of these three words. "Alien" joined our language in the 14th century, and one of its earliest meanings was "belonging to another." By the early 1600s that sense of "alien" had led to the development of "alienable," an adjective describing something you could give away or transfer ownership of, and "unalienable," its opposite. By about 1645, "inalienable" was also in use as a synonym of "unalienable." "Inalienable" is the more common variant today, but it was "unalienable" that was used in the Declaration of Independence to describe rights like life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Origin and Etymology of inalienable
probably from French inaliénable, from in- + aliénable alienable
Other Legal Terms
INALIENABLE Defined for English Language Learners
inalienable
playDefinition of inalienable for English Language Learners
-
: impossible to take away or give up
INALIENABLE Defined for Kids
inalienable
playDefinition of inalienable for Students
: impossible to take away or give up Our citizens have certain inalienable rights.
Law Dictionary
Learn More about inalienable
-
Spanish Central: Translation of inalienable Nglish: Translation of inalienable for Spanish speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up inalienable? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!