inexorable

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

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Examples: inexorable in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

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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Examples of inexorable in a Sentence

the inexorable rise of a political movement

Recent Examples of inexorable from the Web

Fortunately for us, the team at Debenhams were also paying close attention to Quinn’s inexorable rise, and his new collection for the British department store launches this week.

— refinery29.com, "Designer Richard Quinn On The Met Gala, The Queen, & Meghan Markle," 31 May 2018
The rise of the fashionable sneaker — the result of casual Friday’s inexorable creep across the rest of the week — has footwear retailers scrambling to adjust.

— sandrine rastello, BostonGlobe.com, "Comfier shoes appear here to stay: Sneakers trend upends shoe retail," 30 May 2018
Malaysia’s election this week was expected to provide more evidence that democracy in Southeast Asia was in an inexorable retreat.

— Washington Post, "Ex-strongman seeks legacy as savior of Malaysia’s democracy," 12 May 2018
As the movements progressed, however, his true strategy became more evident as the inexorable movement toward consolidation of energy and excitement gave us an intense second movement, a mercurial scherzo, and a finale of rare drive and concision.

— zachary lewis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Orchestra keeps the flame burning as 'The Prometheus Project' continues (review)," 14 May 2018
Malaysia's election this week was expected to provide more evidence that democracy in Southeast Asia was in an inexorable retreat.

— stephen wright and eileen ng, Fox News, "Ex-strongman seeks legacy as savior of Malaysia's democracy," 11 May 2018
Thomas entered Sunday with a chance to become world No. 1 with a win over Watson in the semifinals, but Watson played nearly flawless golf to delay the 24-year-old American's seemingly inexorable ascent to the top spot.

— daniel rapaport, SI.com, "Bubba Watson Cruises to Victory at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play," 25 Mar. 2018
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

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."