Standard Lemma guide

ineluctable

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK, US: /ɪn.ɪˈlʌk.tə.bəl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Impossible to avoid or escape; inescapable, irresistible.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: avoidless, certain, fatal, foregone, impreventable, ineluctable, inescapable, inevitable, inexorable, irresistible, natural, necessary, predictable, unavoidable, unforestallable, unescapable, unpreventable

Antonyms: eluctable

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

impossible to avoid or evade:

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • inescapable conclusion
  • an ineluctable destiny
  • an unavoidable accident

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inescapable, unavoidable

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle French inéluctable (whence in- + e- and -able), from Latin inēlūctābilis, from in- + ēlūctor (“struggle out”) + -bilis.

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неизбежен (neizbežen) — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Czech: nevyhnutelný — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Dutch: onafwendbaar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Dutch: onontkoombaar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • French: inéluctable — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unvermeidbar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unvermeidlich — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unabwendbar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unausweichlich — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unhintergehbar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • German: unabweisbar — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Hungarian: elkerülhetetlen — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Hungarian: kikerülhetetlen — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Italian: ineluttabile — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Portuguese: inevitável — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Russian: неизбе́жный (neizbéžnyj) — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Spanish: ineludible — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Swedish: ofrånkomlig — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Swedish: oundviklig — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Ukrainian: немину́чий (nemynúčyj) — impossible to avoid or escape
  • Ukrainian: невідворо́тний (nevidvorótnyj) — impossible to avoid or escape
Real reading context

ineluctable in complete knowledge articles