inevitable
English
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Etymology
From Middle French inevitable, from Latin inēvītābilis (“unavoidable”), from in- + ēvītābilis (“avoidable”), from ēvītāre (“to avoid”), from ē- (“out”) + vītāre (“to shun”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
inevitable (not comparable)
- Impossible to avoid or prevent.
- We were going so fast that the collision was inevitable.
- Predictable, or always happening.
- My outburst met with the inevitable punishment.
- 2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in the Guardian[1]:
- Every break seemed dangerous and Falcao clearly had the beating of Amorebieta. Others, being forced to stretch a foot behind them to control Arda Turan's 34th-minute cross, might simply have lashed a shot on the turn; Falcao, though, twisted back on to his left foot, leaving Amorebieta in a heap, and thumped in an inevitable finish – his 12th goal in 15 European matches this season.
- 1912, Willa Cather, The Bohemian Girl
- This horse and rider, with their free, rhythmical gallop, were the only moving things to be seen on the face of the flat country. They seemed, in the last sad light of evening, not to be there accidentally, but as an inevitable detail of the landscape.
Usage notes
Largely synonymous with unavoidable, slightly more formal (borrowed as a unit from Latin, rather than formed in English), and with nuances of a natural consequence that occurs after – “inevitable punishment”, “inevitable result”. By contrast, unavoidable has some nuance of existing circumstances – “I was unavoidably detained.” – without there necessarily being a cause.
Further, unavoidable has nuances of “could not have happened any other way, even if circumstances were different”, while inevitable connotes “given circumstances, this is the necessary result.” Compare “the disaster was inevitable”, meaning “sooner or later the disaster would happen (because they did not prepare)” with “the disaster was unavoidable”, meaning “even if they had prepared, the disaster would have happened”.
Often used with a negative connotation, but may be used with a positive or neutral sense of fate, as in “Given our preparations, our victory was inevitable.” in which case *unavoidable is not acceptable.
In the same manner, impreventable and inevitable have different nuances. The sense “the disease was inevitable” means “It was natural to suffer the disease”; the sense “the disease was impreventable” means “There were no preventive methods against the disease”.
Thus, "inevitable" indicates "unable to avoid due to natural or necessary matters", "unavoidable" indicates "unable to avoid due to incidental matters", impreventable indicates "unable to avoid due to the absence of preventive methods".
Synonyms
- (impossible to avoid): inescapable, unavoidable, impreventable; See also Thesaurus:inevitable
- (naturally impossible to avoid): natural, necessary
- (always happening): certain, necessary
Antonyms
- (impossible to avoid): evitable, escapable, avoidable, preventable; See also Thesaurus:avoidable
- (always happening): impossible, incidental; See also Thesaurus:circumstantial
Derived terms
Translations
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Noun
inevitable (plural inevitables)
- Something that is predictable, necessary, or cannot be avoided.
- 2009 August 22, Murray Whyte, “Seeking successors to the Queen West gallery scene”, in Toronto Star[2]:
- In the migratory patterns of the city's art scenes, there are two inevitables: First, that neighbourhoods where art makes its home become instantly more attractive; and second, because of it, art won't be at home for long.
Antonyms
References
- inevitable/unavoidable, WordReference.com
Further reading
- “inevitable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “inevitable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “inevitable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Asturian
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin inēvītābilis.
Adjective
inevitable (epicene, plural inevitables)
Related terms
Catalan
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Central) [i.nə.βiˈtab.blə]
- IPA(key): (Balearic) [i.nə.viˈtab.blə]
- IPA(key): (Valencia) [i.ne.viˈta.ble]
- Rhymes: -aβle
Adjective
inevitable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inevitables)
Derived terms
Galician
Alternative forms
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin inēvītābilis.
Adjective
inevitable m or f (plural inevitables)
Antonyms
Derived terms
Middle French
Adjective
inevitable m or f (plural inevitables)
Descendants
- French: inévitable
Spanish
Etymology
From Latin inēvītābilis.
Pronunciation
Adjective
inevitable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inevitables)
- inevitable, inescapable, unavoidable (unable to be avoided)
- Antonym: evitable
Derived terms
Related terms
- English terms borrowed from Middle French
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 5-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Asturian terms derived from Latin
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian adjectives
- Catalan terms prefixed with in-
- Catalan terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Catalan/aβle
- Catalan lemmas
- Catalan adjectives
- Catalan epicene adjectives
- Galician terms derived from Latin
- Galician lemmas
- Galician adjectives
- Middle French lemmas
- Middle French adjectives
- Spanish terms derived from Latin
- Spanish 5-syllable words
- Spanish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish adjectives
- Spanish epicene adjectives