Definition of inalienable
: incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred
- inalienable rights
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inalienable was our Word of the Day on 07/04/2017. Hear the podcast!
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Recent Examples of inalienable from the Web
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The Eighth is the only inalienable right the unborn have to protect them from changes in government thinking.
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In our system, inalienable rights — including the one to self-defense — can’t be swept away by angry crowds.
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The question at hand is not how to solve the 'gun problem', but how to keep our schools and all places of gathering safe, without compromising the inalienable rights all Americans share.
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Forty-five years ago, the Supreme Court turned its back on the inalienable right to life.
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Our Founding Fathers understood that the pursuit of happiness is right up there with life and liberty as an inalienable right.
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Griffin, who made her career by mocking celebrities, is not the most likely comedian to be martyred over the inalienable right to criticize the president.
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Case in point: NPR decided to tweet out the Declaration of Independence, and some sad folks didn’t recognize the brilliant blueprint for our inalienable rights.
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To ride the train home without being assaulted because of the color of your skin or your religious beliefs, is an inalienable right.
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
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First Known Use: circa 1645
in the meaning defined above
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INALIENABLE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of inalienable for English Language Learners
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: impossible to take away or give up
INALIENABLE Defined for Kids
Definition of inalienable for Students
: impossible to take away or give up
- Our citizens have certain inalienable rights.
Law Dictionary
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Spanish Central: Translation of inalienable Nglish: Translation of inalienable for Spanish speakers
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