implacable

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: implaçable

English

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English implācāble (immitigable, unappeasable)[1] from Old French implacable (harsh, unrelenting; implacable) (modern French implacable), from Latin implācābilis (unappeasable, implacable; irreconcilable), from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + plācābilis (placable; appeasing, moderating, pacifying, propitiating; acceptable) (from plācō (to assuage, pacify, placate; to appease; to reconcile) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon)).[2]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

implacable (comparative more implacable, superlative most implacable)

  1. Not able to be placated or appeased.
    Synonyms: (obsolete) impacable, irreconcilable, unassuageable, (obsolete) unplacable, unpleasable
    Antonyms: appeasable, assuageable, pacable, pacifiable, placable
    • c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 269:
      He is knight dubb'd with vnhatche'd Rapier, and on carpet conſideration, but he is a diuell in priuate brall, soules and bodies hath he diuorc'd three, and his incenſement at this moment is ſo implacable, that ſatisfaction can be none, but by pangs of death and ſepulcher: Hob, nob, is his word: giu't or take't.
    • 1810, J[ohn] Stagg, “Arthur’s Cave. A Legendary Tale.”, in The Minstrel of the North: Or, Cumbrian Legends. [], London: Printed by Hamblin and Seyfang, [], for the author, and sold by J. Blacklock, [], →OCLC, page 105:
      [I]n the reign of Henry the Second, a body happening, by chance, to be dug up near Glastonbury Abbey, without any symptoms of putrefaction or decay, the Welch, the descendants of the Ancient Britons, tenacious of the dignity and reputation of that illustrious hero [King Arthur], vainly supposed it could be no other than the body of their justly-boasted Pen-Dragon; and that he had been immured in that sepulchre by the spells of some powerful and implacable inchanter.
  2. Impossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable.
    Synonyms: relentless, unremitting, unyielding
  3. Adamant; immovable.
    • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: [], London: [] Nath[aniel] Ponder [], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London, (Please provide a date or year), page 84:
      Indeed Cain hated his Brother, becauſe his own works were evil, and his Brothers righteous; and if thy Wife and Children have been offended with thee for this, they thereby ſhew themſelves to be implacable to good; and thou haſt delivered thy ſoul from their blood.

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ implācāble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 4 December 2018.
  2. ^ implacable, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1899; implacable”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Catalan

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Borrowed from Latin implācābilis.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

implacable m or f (masculine and feminine plural implacables)

  1. implacable (not able to be placated or appeased)

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

French

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin implācābilis.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Adjective

[edit]

implacable (plural implacables)

  1. implacable, harsh, unrelenting

Derived terms

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Spanish

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Latin implācābilis.

Pronunciation

[edit]
  • IPA(key): /implaˈkable/ [ĩm.plaˈka.β̞le]
  • Rhymes: -able
  • Syllabification: im‧pla‧ca‧ble

Adjective

[edit]

implacable m or f (masculine and feminine plural implacables)

  1. implacable
  2. harsh
  3. unrelenting
    Synonym: furioso

Derived terms

[edit]
[edit]

Further reading

[edit]