Inevitable Meaning
/ɪˈnɛvɪtəbəl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjImpossible to avoid or prevent.
adjPredictable or always happening.
Sentence Examples
It is inevitable that I go to France someday, I just don't know when.
As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable.
It was an inevitable consequence of the decision.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the massive earthquake, the collapse of the old buildings was ____ and could not be stopped.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After months of failing to pay the rent, it was ____ that the family would be forced to move.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French inevitable, from Latin inēvītābilis (“unavoidable”), from in- + ēvītābilis (“avoidable”), from ēvītāre (“to avoid”), from ē- (“out”) + vītāre (“to shun”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It was inevitable that such a system should lead to the wide use of nicknames to distinguish identically named members of a family[…]"
— 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xv:
"To do the job thoroughly sentiment must be ignored and it seems inevitable that the famous Great Hall and the Doric Arch will have to be sacrificed to progress."
— 1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 99:
"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."
— 1912, Willa Cather, The Bohemian Girl:
"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."
— 2012 May 9, Jonathan Wilson, “Europa League: Radamel Falcao's Atlético Madrid rout Athletic Bilbao”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2018:
"I pass also the jealousies, the quarrels, the disgusts, that make the catholic questions and corn-bills of married life—and only dwell on one particular: some irresistible hat, some adorable cap, some exquisite robe, has rather elongated your milliner's list of inevitables..."
— 1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XI, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 98:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the massive earthquake, the collapse of the old buildings was ____ and could not be stopped.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After months of failing to pay the rent, it was ____ that the family would be forced to move.