inevitable

adjective

in·​ev·​i·​ta·​ble i-ˈne-və-tə-bəl 

: incapable of being avoided or evaded

an inevitable outcome

inevitability

i-ˌne-və-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

inevitableness

i-ˈne-və-tə-bəl-nəs 

noun

Did you know?

Inevitable can occasionally be found used as a noun (“the inevitable had come to pass”), but more frequently it is encountered as an adjective. Some, in fact, would classify this word not only as an adjective, but as a special kind: the absolute adjective. Absolute adjectives permit little or no variation, and cannot (in the view of some) be used in the comparative or superlative form. For instance, a person may be dead or not, but cannot be the deadest among other dead people. This neat classification seems logical enough, yet it does not apply in all situations. After all, we often speak of things as dead in a non-biological sense; can a ball that is dead (not fully inflated) be deader than another ball? Of course it can. Similar attempts to impose the "absolute" label have been made in the case of inevitable. Some consider it improper to modify the word, arguing that “almost inevitable” is illogical. Yet these two words have been successfully paired together since at least 1576, when Abraham Flemming, in a translation of Cicero, wrote, “in what snares (almost inevitable) of unluckinesse we be intangled.”

Synonyms

• certain
• ineluctable
• ineludible
• inescapable
• necessary
• sure
• unavoidable
• unescapable

Examples of inevitable in a Sentence

The captain of archers fidgeted and coughed and rolled his eyes at his men, as if such cupidity and dishonor were an inevitable but minor aspect of the human predicament … —Michael Chabon, New York Times Magazine, 6 May 2007

In a society that has gold-plated everything from hubcaps to teeth, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would find a way to add some bling to bacteria. —Zach Zorich, Discover, February 2006

The Vikings disappeared, but the Inuit survived, proving that human survival in Greenland was not impossible and the Vikings' disappearance not inevitable. —Jared M. Diamond, Collapse, 2005

getting wet is inevitable if you are going to try to give your dog a bath

Recent Examples on the Web

Spooky season is upon us and, unsurprisingly, so are the year’s inevitable crop of hair-raising indie games. —Matt Gardner, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

Still, if the Liberty would have lost, Ionescu’s shooting woes would have drawn inevitable comparisons to those of John Starks, the former New York Knicks guard who infamously shot 2-18 in another decisive championship duel, Game 7 of the 1994 NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. —Sean Gregory, TIME, 21 Oct. 2024

The declines mean at least a pause in Wall Street’s rally to records, which was built in large part on optimism that the U.S. economy can make a perfect escape from the worst inflation in generations without a painful recession that many investors had worried could be inevitable. —Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2024

Hemingway recognized that while storms are inevitable, mass casualties do not have to be. —Verna Kale, The Conversation, 18 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin inevitabilis, from in- + evitabilis evitable

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing inevitable

• the inevitable

Kids Definition

inevitable

adjective

in·​ev·​i·​ta·​ble in-ˈev-ət-ə-bəl 

: impossible to avoid or evade : sure to happen : certain

the inevitable result

inevitability

(ˌ)in-ˌev-ət-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

inevitableness

(ˈ)in-ˈev-ət-ə-bəl-nəs 

noun