inevitable

English

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Inevitable

Etymology

From Latin inevitabilis (“unavoidable”), from in + evitabilis (“avoidable”), from evitare (“to avoid”), from e (“out”) + vitare (“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”, the Guardian:
  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.

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 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 didn’t 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.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

impossible to avoid or prevent

Asturian: inevitable (ast)
Bengali: অনিবার্য (bn) (ônibarjô)
Catalan: inevitable (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 不可避免 (cmn) (bùkě bìmiǎn), 總會 (cmn), 总会 (cmn) (zǒnghuì), 無可避免 (cmn), 无可避免 (cmn) (wúkě bìmiǎn)
Czech: nevyhnutelný (cs) m
Dutch: onvermijdelijk (nl), onafwendbaar (nl)
Estonian: vältimatu (et)
Finnish: väistämätön (fi), vääjäämätön (fi)
French: inévitable (fr)
Galician: inevitable (gl), inevitábel (gl)
German: unvermeidlich (de), unabwendbar (de)
Hungarian: elkerülhetetlen (hu)
Italian: inevitabile (it)

Japanese: 不可避 (ja) (ふかひ, fukahi), 避けることのできない (ja) (sakerukoto-no dekinai)
Korean: 피할 수 없는 (ko) (pihal sue opsneun)
Occitan: inevitable (oc)
Persian: حتمی (fa) (hatmi), حتمی‌الوقوع (fa) (hatmi-ol-voqu'), ناگزیر (fa) (nâgozir)
Polish: nieunikniony (pl) m
Portuguese: inevitável (pt)
Romanian: inevitabil (ro) m and n, neocolibil (ro) m and n
Russian: неизбежный (ru) (neizbéžnyj), неминуемый (ru) (neminújemyj)
Slovak: neodvratný (sk)
Spanish: inevitable (es)
Swedish: oundviklig (sv), ofrånkomlig (sv)
Turkish: kaçınılmaz (tr)
Urdu: ناگزیر ، اٹل (ur)

predictable, or always happening

Dutch: voorspelbaar (nl)
Finnish: ennalta arvattava
French: inévitable (fr) m and f
German: zwangsläufig (de)
Italian: inevitabile (it)

Japanese: 必至 (ja) (ひっし, hisshi), 恒常的 (ja) (こうじょうてき, kōjōteki), 常習 (ja) (じょうしゅう, jōshū)
Romanian: inevitabil (ro) m and n
Russian: неизбежный (ru) (neizbéžnyj), неминуемый (ru) (neminújemyj)

Noun

inevitable (plural inevitables)

Something that is predictable, or cannot be avoided.
- 2009 August 22, Murray Whyte, “Seeking successors to the Queen West gallery scene”, Toronto Star:
  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.