inevitably

English

WOTD – 5 December 2007

Etymology

inevitable +‎ -ly

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, US) IPA^(key): /ɪˈnɛvɪtəbli/, /ɪˈnɛvətəbli/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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Adverb

inevitably (not comparable)

1. In a manner that is impossible to avoid or prevent.

   Inevitably, all creatures eventually die.

   The sun inevitably rises.

   Despite the town's best efforts, the dam inevitably gave way.

   The inevitably cold winter approaches.

   • 1960 June, “Diesel locomotive operation on the Great Eastern Line”, in Trains Illustrated, page 374:

     In a period of transition from steam to diesel, many of the schemes are inevitably of an interim nature and only on full dieselisation will the final pattern be determined and full benefit derived.

2. As usual; predictably; as expected.

   Inevitably, the next-door neighbour began to mow his lawn just as she lays down her head after a long night shift.

   The child inevitably began to cry when his mother went to work.

   The inevitably long line of customers queued for the latest 'Harry Potter'.

Synonyms

• (in a manner that is impossible to avoid): certainly, inexorably, unavoidably, necessarily
• (as usual): always, predictably, regularly

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of "in a manner that is impossible to avoid"): evitably, avoidably, impossibly, incidentally
• (antonym(s) of "as usual"): unexpectedly, unusually

Related terms

• inevitability
• inevitable

Translations

in a manner that this impossible to avoid

• Afrikaans: onvermydelik
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: непазбе́жна (njepazbjéžna), неміну́ча (njeminúča), няўхі́льна (njaŭxílʹna)
• Bulgarian: неизбе́жно (bg) (neizbéžno)
• Catalan: inevitablement
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 必將／必将 (zh) (bìjiāng), 必然 (zh) (bìrán), 不可避免地 (zh) (bùkě bìmiǎn de)

• Czech: nevyhnutelně, neodvratně
• Danish: uundgåelig
• Dutch: onvermijdelijk (nl)
• Esperanto: neeviteble
• Finnish: vääjäämättä (fi), vääjäämättömästi, väistämättömästi (fi)
• French: inévitablement (fr)
• Galician: inevitablemente, inevitabelmente
• German: zwangsläufig (de)
• Greek: αναπόφευκτα (el) (anapófefkta), αναπότρεπτα (el) (anapótrepta), σίγουρα (el) (sígoura)
• Hungarian: elkerülhetetlenül (hu), óhatatlanul (hu), szükségszerűen (hu)
• Italian: inevitabilmente (it)
• Japanese: 起こるべくして (okorubekushite), 当然 (ja) (tōzen), 必ず (ja) (kanarazu), 必然的に (ja) (hitsuzenteki ni)
• Macedonian: неизбежно (neizbežno)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: uunngåelig, uvegerlig (no)

• Occitan: inevitablament
• Old English: unforbugendlīċe
• Polish: nieuchronnie (pl)
• Portuguese: inevitavelmente
• Romanian: inevitabil (ro), în mod inevitabil
• Russian: неизбе́жно (ru) (neizbéžno), немину́емо (ru) (neminújemo)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: не̏избе̄жно, не̏избје̄жно

  Roman: nȅizbēžno (sh), nȅizbjēžno (sh)

• Slovak: nevyhnutne
• Slovene: neizogibno
• Spanish: inevitablemente (es), indefectiblemente
• Swedish: ofrånkomligen (sv)
• Ukrainian: немину́че (nemynúče), невідворо́тно (nevidvorótno)

as usual

• Esperanto: neeviteble
• Finnish: poikkeuksetta
• French: inévitablement (fr)
• German: erwartbarerweise
• Hungarian: szokás szerint

References

• “inevitably”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.