Standard Lemma guide

inevitability

noun · 3 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.

  • /ɪˌnɛvɪtəˈbɪlɪti/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N EH2 V IH0 T AH0 B IH1 L IH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The condition of being inevitable.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An inevitable condition or outcome.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the quality of being unavoidable

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inevitableness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: certainty, sure thing, foregone conclusion

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English inevitable Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English inevitability From inevitable + -ity.

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: qaçılmazlıq — the condition of being inevitable
  • Dutch: onvermijdelijkheid — the condition of being inevitable
  • Finnish: väistämättömyys — the condition of being inevitable
  • Georgian: გარდაუვალობა (gardauvaloba) — the condition of being inevitable
  • German: Unvermeidlichkeit — the condition of being inevitable
  • German: Zwangsläufigkeit — the condition of being inevitable
  • German: Unausweichlichkeit — the condition of being inevitable
  • Greek: αναπόφευκτο (anapófefkto) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Hindi: अपरिहार्यता (aprihāryatā) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Hungarian: elkerülhetetlenség — the condition of being inevitable
  • Japanese: 不可避 (fukahi) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Japanese: 必然 (hitsuzen) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Japanese: 必然性 (hitsuzensei) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Romanian: inevitabilitate — the condition of being inevitable
  • Russian: неизбе́жность (neizbéžnostʹ) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Russian: неотврати́мость (neotvratímostʹ) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Spanish: inevitabilidad — the condition of being inevitable
  • Swedish: oundviklighet — the condition of being inevitable
  • Swedish: ofrånkomlighet — the condition of being inevitable
  • Ukrainian: немину́чість (nemynúčistʹ) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Ukrainian: невідворо́тність (nevidvorótnistʹ) — the condition of being inevitable
  • Dutch: onvermijdelijkheid — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • Finnish: väistämättömyys — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • German: Zwangsläufigkeit — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • German: Unausweichlichkeit — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • Greek: αναπόφευκτο (anapófefkto) — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • Romanian: inevitabilitate — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • Swedish: oundviklighet — an inevitable condition or outcome
  • Swedish: ofrånkomlighet — an inevitable condition or outcome