inevitable
adjective
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Inevitable can occasionally be found used as a noun (“the inevitable had come to pass”), but more frequently it is encountered as an adjective. Some, in fact, would classify this word not only as an adjective, but as a special kind: the absolute adjective. Absolute adjectives permit little or no variation, and cannot (in the view of some) be used in the comparative or superlative form. For instance, a person may be dead or not, but cannot be the deadest among other dead people. This neat classification seems logical enough, yet it does not apply in all situations. After all, we often speak of things as dead in a non-biological sense; can a ball that is dead (not fully inflated) be deader than another ball? Of course it can. Similar attempts to impose the "absolute" label have been made in the case of inevitable. Some consider it improper to modify the word, arguing that “almost inevitable” is illogical. Yet these two words have been successfully paired together since at least 1576, when Abraham Flemming, in a translation of Cicero, wrote, “in what snares (almost inevitable) of unluckinesse we be intangled.”
Examples of inevitable in a Sentence
Michael Chabon, New York Times Magazine, 6 May 2007
In a society that has gold-plated everything from hubcaps to teeth, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would find a way to add some bling to bacteria.
—Zach Zorich, Discover, February 2006
The Vikings disappeared, but the Inuit survived, proving that human survival in Greenland was not impossible and the Vikings' disappearance not inevitable.
—Jared M. Diamond, Collapse, 2005
getting wet is inevitable if you are going to try to give your dog a bath
Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 27 Mar. 2026
After all, how can premium hikes be deemed inevitable when insurers’ profits are soaring?
—Barbara Hoare, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
There was an inevitable delay between the live sound at the venue and the images arriving through screens—everyone in the area was, technically, watching a slightly different version of the same moment.
—Yook Jihun, Popular Science, 26 Mar. 2026
Close games and defeats seem inevitable for a Dallas team that has lost five straight; 14 of its last 16; and 24 of its last 28.
—Brad Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inevitable
Cite this Entry
“Inevitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inevitable. Accessed 30 Mar. 2026.
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inevitable
adjective
