inexorable

adjective in·ex·o·ra·ble \ (ˌ)i-ˈneks-rə-bəl , -ˈnek-sə- , -ˈneg-zə-rə- \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of inexorable

: not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped : relentless

inexorable progress

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inexorability

play \(ˌ)i-ˌneks-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē, -ˌnek-sə-, -ˌneg-zə-\ noun

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inexorableness

play \(ˌ)i-ˈneks-rə-bəl-nəs, -ˈnek-sə-, -ˈneg-zə-\ noun

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inexorably

play \(ˌ)i-ˈneks-rə-blē, -ˈnek-sə-, -ˈneg-zə-rə-\ adverb

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inexorable was our Word of the Day on 07/09/2009. Hear the podcast!

Examples of inexorable in a Sentence

the inexorable rise of a political movement

Recent Examples of inexorable from the Web

Lelio could have perhaps done a better job of acknowledging the inexorable power of inertia.

— david sims, The Atlantic, "Disobedience Is a Drab Story of Forbidden Love," 27 Apr. 2018
The White House, a big backer of coal despite the inexorable shift towards more environmentally-friendly energy sources, is yet to comment.

— alan murray, Fortune, "Rare Earths, Coal Shutdown, Norwegian Air: CEO Daily for April 12, 2018," 12 Apr. 2018
Inaction in either case could be just as meaningful, as both situations follow their own inexorable logic toward an outcome that Trump will have missed an opportunity to forestall.

— brian bennett, Time, "Why Tuesday Could Define Trump's Presidency," 10 Apr. 2018
Fifty-one years later, its lack of prominence is a testament to King's radical ambition: to expand the scope of the civil rights movement and draw clear the inexorable ties between domestic policy and unjust aggression abroad.

— gregory krieg, CNN, "When MLK turned on Vietnam, even liberal 'allies' turned on him," 4 Apr. 2018
But the upward trend in pedestrian safety seemed inexorable.

— nick stockton, WIRED, "As Pedestrian Deaths Spike, Scientists Scramble for Answers," 22 Mar. 2018
There has been no discussion over whether to shave or not to shave for the [Justice League] reshoots, simply a relentless campaign to put an end to the seemingly inexorable conquest of this despotic ‘stache.

— kaitlyn frey, PEOPLE.com, "Henry Cavill Bids Farewell to His Facial Hair in Hilarious Tribute Video," 21 Mar. 2018
These industries have been shedding workers for decades, mostly because of inexorable productivity gains.

— mark zandi, Philly.com, "Trump's tariffs imperil the global economy and distract from real issues with China," 8 Mar. 2018
But there are no easy answers on how to break what appears to be an inexorable slide into a deeper freeze and little optimism that dialogue is about to break out.

— karen deyoung, Washington Post, "Putin speech adds to freeze in U.S.-Russia relations," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'inexorable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The Latin antecedent of inexorable is inexorabilis, which is itself a combination of the prefix in-, meaning "not," plus exorabilis, meaning pliant or "capable of being moved by entreaty." It's a fitting etymology for inexorable. You can beseech and implore until you're blue in the face, but that won't have any effect on something that's inexorable. Inexorable has been a part of the English language since the 1500s. Originally, it was often applied to persons, or sometimes to personified things ("deaf and inexorable laws"). These days, it is usually applied to things, as in "inexorable monotony" or "an inexorable trend." In such cases, it essentially means "unyielding" or "inflexible."