ineluctable

adjective

in·eluc·ta·ble ˌi-ni-ˈlək-tə-bəl

Synonyms of ineluctable next

: not to be avoided, changed, or resisted : inevitable

an ineluctable fate

ineluctability

ˌi-ni-ˌlək-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

noun

ineluctably

ˌi-ni-ˈlək-tə-blē

adverb

Did you know?

If you love grappling with language as much as we do, you’re sure to get a (flying) kick out of today’s word. Ineluctable, you see, has its roots in wrestling, a popular sport in ancient Greece and Rome. The Latin word luctator means “wrestler,” and luctari means “to wrestle,” as well as “to struggle, strive, or contend.” With the addition of e- (ex-) luctari became eluctari, meaning “to struggle clear of.” The negating prefix in- then piled on to form ineluctabilis, an adjective describing something that cannot be escaped or avoided. It is ineluctabilis that English speakers borrowed to form ineluctable, a word often used to describe fates that one cannot squirm free from, whether due to something as cosmic as the Fates themselves or as corporeal as a headlock.

Examples of ineluctable in a Sentence

the ineluctable approach of winter had many worried about the cost of heating their homes

Recent Examples on the Web And here’s the thing: The large, ineluctable past cannot be simply be bound up tight with the iron bands of a gag order. —

Howard Blum, Washington Post, 26 June 2024 After all, didn’t Western theorists once insist that a growing economy was the companion to ineluctable democratic development? —

Orville Schell, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021 Vance is steadily stacking his cards as a singer-songwriter of ineluctable artistic power. —

Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 20 May 2024 Ever Seen' Civil War belongs more to the tradition of battle movies like The Thin Red Line or Apocalypse Now, in which war is the mysterious, ineluctable manifestation of the American will — perhaps its unconscious will. —

Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ineluctable

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ineluctable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin ineluctabilis, from in- + eluctari to struggle clear of, from ex- + luctari to struggle, wrestle; akin to Latin luxus dislocated — more at lock

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ineluctable was circa 1623

See more words from the same year