Ineluctably Definition & Meaning

Other Words from ineluctable

ineluctability \ ˌi-ni-ˌlək-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

ineluctably \ ˌi-ni-ˈlək-tə-blē

\ adverb

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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 joins 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 ineluctabilis as ineluctable. Another word that has its roots in luctari is reluctant. Reluctari means "to struggle against"—and someone who is reluctant resists or holds back.

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 Indexes offer the reader multiple ways in and through the text, freeing them from the confines of an ineluctable narrative. — Alexandra Horowitz, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2022 This alternately playful and lugubrious work of reflection isn’t really about the controversial Italian writer’s life at all, but rather his legacy, and in a less literal yet ineluctable sense, that of film directors Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. — Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Feb. 2022 As the nation with the world’s oldest population, Japan is most vulnerable to the ravages of dementia: memory loss, confusion, slow physical decline and, most heartbreakingly, the ineluctable dissolution of the self and relationships with others. — New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022 What emerged was a top-down system that, ever since, has seemed, absurdly, like a natural and ineluctable state of the art. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2021 But for anyone who’s not a weekend-midnights New Beverly habitue or even has only seen one or two, there’s the ineluctable appeal of great pop songs, well-belted — no Easter egg acknowledgement required. — Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Sep. 2021 In the Popes, on the other hand, the terrible thing seems to come from nowhere, both controlled and spontaneous, ineluctable. — Joan Acocella, The New Yorker, 17 May 2021 At a time when character appears increasingly to have been subsumed by the ineluctable forces of political science—asymmetrical polarisation, negative partisanship and the rest—Mr Manchin is a refreshing anomaly. — The Economist, 13 Mar. 2021 An increasingly urbanized, empowered, and active populace is one of the ineluctable mega trends of the 21st century. — Paul Salem, Time, 6 Jan. 2021 See More

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.