Definition of ineluctable
: not to be avoided, changed, or resisted : inevitable
- an ineluctable fate
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Examples of ineluctable in a Sentence
the ineluctable approach of winter had many worried about the cost of heating their homes
Recent Examples of ineluctable from the Web
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Selection bias might partially explain the high incidence, but head injuries are an ineluctable part of football, and neurologists are continuing to learn more about the relationship between football and CTE.
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Yet like all stars, this palpable humanity comes with an ineluctable facility for both holding the screen and your attention.
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Gone is the original’s joyful sense of mischief; what’s left is an inoffensive piece of twaddle that never fully appreciates the ineluctable bond between community spirit and a drop of the hard stuff.
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In both, the Far North exhibits an attraction that turns ineluctable, then fatal.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ineluctable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Like drama, wrestling was popular in ancient Greece and Rome. "Wrestler," in Latin, is "luctator," and "to wrestle" is "luctari." "Luctari" also has extended senses - "to struggle," "to strive," or "to contend." "Eluctari" joined "e-" ("ex-") with "luctari," forming a verb meaning "to struggle clear of." "Ineluctabilis" brought in the negative prefix in- to form an adjective describing something that cannot be escaped or avoided. English speakers borrowed the word as "ineluctable" around 1623. Another word that has its roots in "luctari" is "reluctant." Reluctari means "to struggle against" - and someone who is "reluctant" resists or holds back.
Origin and Etymology of ineluctable
Latin ineluctabilis, from in- + eluctari to struggle clear of, from ex- + luctari to struggle, wrestle; akin to Latin luxus dislocated — more at lock
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: circa 1623
in the meaning defined above
See Words from the same yearineluctable Synonyms
Synonyms
certain, ineludible, inescapable, inevitable, necessary, sure, unavoidable, unescapable;
Related Words
destined, fated, foreordained, predestined, predetermined, preordained;
Phrases
in the bag, in the cards (also on the cards);
INELUCTABLE Defined for English Language Learners
Definition of ineluctable for English Language Learners
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: not able to be avoided or changed
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