inalienable
adjective
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Alien, alienable, inalienable—it's easy enough to see the Latin word alius, meaning "other," at the root of these three words. Alien joined our language in the 14th century, and one of its earliest meanings was "belonging to another." By the early 1600s that sense of alien had led to alienable, an adjective describing something you can give away or transfer to another owner. The word unalienable came about as its opposite, but so did inalienable, a word most likely borrowed into English on its own from French. Inalienable is the more common form today, and although we often see both forms used to modify "rights," it was unalienable that was used in the Declaration of Independence to describe life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Examples of inalienable in a Sentence
Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 27 Nov. 2024
Iran defends its nuclear ambitions and its cultivation of regional militias—which flagrantly violate the sovereignty of its Arab neighbors—as both an inalienable right and a form of resistance against foreign imperialism.
—Karim Sadjadpour, Foreign Affairs, 16 Feb. 2022
Despite never-ceasing debate about it, reproductive choice seemed inalienable.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
These inalienable rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
—Pioneer Press Elections Team, Twin Cities, 21 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Inalienable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inalienable. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
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inalienable
adjective
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inalienable
adjective
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