inevitable
adjective
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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 inevitable) of unluckinesse 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
Valerie Mesa, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024
Change is inevitable and a part of the human experience.
—Miriam Moore, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Musk has repeatedly argued that a mass extinction event on Earth, such as an asteroid strike, is inevitable.
—Dave Lawler, Axios, 8 Dec. 2024
Some observers noted that progressive prosecutors elsewhere have had many successes, and said that while there are lessons to be learned from November’s results, ups and downs are also inevitable for long-term political movements.
—James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Inevitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inevitable. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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inevitable
adjective
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