inevitable
gb/ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/ us/ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
B2
English
~ 2900
Senses
0 senses
adjective
B2
property
1
Certain to happen; unavoidable
Sure to happen and cannot be stopped or avoided.
Usage pattern:
[something] is inevitable
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'inevitable' with 'imminent'. 'Inevitable' means it will definitely happen sometime, not necessarily soon.
Synonyms
unavoidable (Neutral tone; directly states that something cannot be avoided.)
|
certain (Emphasizes certainty more than impossibility of prevention.)
Antonyms
avoidable (Indicates that something can be prevented or stopped.)
|
preventable (Focuses on the possibility of taking action to stop something from happening.)
Collocations
seem inevitable
|become inevitable
|make [something] inevitable
|inevitable result
|inevitable outcome
Themes
daily life
|philosophy
|emotions
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- Change is inevitable in any growing company.
- With such poor planning, failure seemed inevitable.
- Aging is an inevitable part of life.
- Given the evidence, his resignation was inevitable.
Learner examples
- Rain is inevitable in the rainy season.
- It is inevitable that the sun will rise tomorrow.
- Mistakes are inevitable when you are learning.
- His anger was inevitable after hearing the bad news.
Grammar
Dictionary form
inevitable
IPA
GB/ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
US/ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
Syllables & stress
in - ev - it - able (4 syllables)
Stress on 2nd syllable (ev)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: inevitable
Word family
Core family
inevitably
adverb B2
inevitability
noun
Negative and opposite forms
avoidable
adjective
preventable
adjective
Expressions
accept the inevitable
1/æksˈɛpt ðə ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
fixed phrase
Agree to something unavoidable
To agree that something will happen and stop trying to change it.
Examples
- She accepted the inevitable and signed the divorce papers.
- We must accept the inevitable and adapt.
make [something] inevitable
1/mˈeɪk sˈʌmθɪŋ ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
fixed phrase
Cause something to be unavoidable
To do something that ensures another thing will happen and cannot be stopped.
Examples
- The lack of funding made the project's failure inevitable.
- Poor communication made misunderstandings inevitable.
the inevitable
1/ðə ɪnˈɛvətəbəl/
fixed phrase
An unavoidable event or outcome
The thing that cannot be stopped from happening.
Examples
- After months of tension, the inevitable finally happened: they broke up.
- He faced the inevitable with courage.