unalienable

adjective

un·​alien·​able ˌən-ˈāl-yə-nə-bəl 

-ˈā-lē-ə-

: impossible to take away or give up : inalienable

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

—United States Declaration of Independence

… it's hard to say whether the partisan noise could influence an election, or whether it's New York simply exercising its unalienable right to be New York.

—Audra D. S. Burch

Examples of unalienable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So much for our unalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2026

This note was a promise that all men — yes, Black men as well as white men — would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. — New York Times, 9 June 2026

Those are the three unalienable rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 29 June 2026

For decades, speech has faced very few limits Freedom of expression was understood by the nation’s founders to be a natural, unalienable right that belongs to every human being. — Lynn Greenky, The Conversation, 8 Feb. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

unalienable

adjective

un·​alien·​able ˌən-ˈāl-yə-nə-bəl 

-ˈā-lē-ə-nə-

: inalienable

Legal Definition

unalienable

adjective

un·​alien·​able ˌən-ˈāl-yə-nə-bəl, -ˈā-lē-ə- 

: not alienable : inalienable