inevitable
adjective
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Absolutely Inevitable (Or Not)
Inevitable can occasionally be found used as a noun (“the inevitable had come to pass”), but more frequently it is encountered as an adjective. Some, in fact, would classify this word not only as an adjective, but as a special kind: the absolute adjective. Absolute adjectives permit little or no variation, and cannot (in the view of some) be used in the comparative or superlative form. For instance, a person may be dead or not, but cannot be the deadest among other dead people. This neat classification seems logical enough, yet it does not apply in all situations. After all, we often speak of things as dead in a non-biological sense; can a ball that is dead (not fully inflated) be deader than another ball? Of course it can. Similar attempts to impose the "absolute" label have been made in the case of inevitable. Some consider it improper to modify the word, arguing that “almost inevitable” is illogical. Yet these two words have been successfully paired together since at least 1576, when Abraham Flemming, in a translation of Cicero, wrote, “in what snares (almost ineuitable) of vnluckinesse we be intangled.”
Synonyms
Examples of inevitable in a Sentence
Michael Chabon, New York Times Magazine, 6 May 2007
In a society that has gold-plated everything from hubcaps to teeth, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would find a way to add some bling to bacteria.
—Zach Zorich, Discover, February 2006
The Vikings disappeared, but the Inuit survived, proving that human survival in Greenland was not impossible and the Vikings' disappearance not inevitable.
—Jared M. Diamond, Collapse, 2005
getting wet is inevitable if you are going to try to give your dog a bath
Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
Through analyzing the current market state, Mahalingam realized a worldwide eruption of AI and high-tech is inevitable, encouraging companies to harmonize their systems with the pace of technology.
—Hilary Tetenabaum, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for inevitable 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inevitable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Inevitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inevitable. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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inevitable
adjective
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