inevitablein‧ev‧i‧ta‧ble /ɪˈnevətəbəl/ ●●○ W3 AWL adjective 
A further escalation of the crisis now seems inevitable.it is inevitable (that) It’s inevitable that doctors will make the occasional mistake.inevitable consequence/result Disease was an inevitable consequence of poor living conditions.► see thesaurus at certain2the inevitable a situation that is certain to happen: One day the inevitable happened and I got a speeding ticket.
WORD ORIGINinevitable
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin inevitabilis, from evitare ‘to avoid’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- If the population continues to expand, Ehrlich argues, mass starvation and ecological disaster will be the inevitable consequence.
- It was inevitable that he'd find out her secret sooner or later.
- Nina could never escape the inevitable comparisons that people made between her and her twin.
- Payton handled the inevitable questions about his past with great dignity.
- Since the leaders can't agree, more fighting is inevitable.
- The price of bread was doubled, with the inevitable result - riots in the streets of Paris.
- War now seems inevitable.
THESAURUS
if something is certain, you are completely sure that it will happen or is true: · Success seems certain.· It is almost certain that there will be a change of government.· Nobody knows exactly who built the manor, but it is certain that an architect called John Sturges supplied the drawings.
if something is definite, it is certain because someone has officially stated that it will happen, is true etc: · I hope you can give me a definite answer soon.· The wedding will be next summer but a definite date has not been arranged yet.· I’ve got a good chance of getting the job, but it’s not definite yet.
if something, especially something bad, is inevitable, it is certain to happen and you cannot do anything to prevent it: · War now seems inevitable.· It was inevitable that he would find out her secret sooner or later.· Facial wrinkles are the inevitable result of aging.
if something is bound to happen, it is very likely to happen, especially because that is what usually happens in that kind of situation. Be bound to is less formal than certain and is very common in everyday spoken English: · The kids are bound to be hungry when they get home – they always are.· My car broke down today. It was bound to happen sooner or later.
formal to be certain to get something good, or to be successful: · After the success of its recent single, the band is now assured of a contract with a major record company.· He is is virtually assured of becoming the next prime minister.· Our clients are assured of comfortable accommodation and the attention of our trained staff.
if something is a foregone conclusion, its result is certain even though it has not happened yet: · They were winning by such a large margin that victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion.· Party members believe it is a foregone conclusion that he will resign.
Longman Language Activatorwhen something is certain and impossible to avoid · War now seems inevitable.· Nina could never escape the inevitable comparisons that people made between her and her twin.inevitable result/consequence · If the population continues to expand, Ehrlich argues, mass starvation and ecological disaster will be the inevitable consequence. · The price of bread was doubled, with the inevitable result - riots in the streets of Paris.it is inevitable (that) · It was inevitable that he'd find out her secret sooner or later.
use this to tell someone that something is certain to happen and that they cannot prevent it even if they do not like it: · You're going to have to face him one day, whether you like it or not.· Whether she likes it or not, she's got to accept that her kids are grown up now.
something that is predestined will certainly happen and cannot be changed because it has been decided in advance by a power or force beyond our control: · Life isn't a series of predestined events: we have some control over what happens.predestined to do something: · Many religions teach that man is predestined to suffer.
if you know that a situation is meant to be you know it is certain to happen, especially because it is right and suitable: · We tried to be happy together but it was never meant to be.· Although saying goodbye was painful, she knew it was meant to be.
something that is definitely going to happen and cannot be avoided or prevented: · It's time they accepted the inevitable and got a divorce.bow to the inevitable (=accept something that cannot be prevented): · Week after week the papers were full of revelations about the minister's alleged corrupt dealings, until eventually he bowed to the inevitable and resigned.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Disease was an inevitable consequence of poor living conditions.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Myers finally bowed to the inevitable (=accepted something he could not change) and withdrew from the campaign.
Disease was an inevitable consequence of poor living conditions. Myers finally bowed to the inevitable (=accepted something he could not change) and withdrew from the campaign. (=one that is very obvious, although you may not like it)· The inescapable conclusion was that the country needed a change of leadership.
(=that you cannot avoid)· Loss of mobility is not an inevitable consequence of old age.
(=sure to happen)· Some environmentalists have concluded that the planet faces certain doom.
(=a result that is impossible to avoid)· Weight loss is an inevitable result of the disease.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· It was almost inevitable that this would have a negative effect on any innovative work.· The almost inevitable result: Housing prices will drop, hurting homeowners.· Felt was an almost inevitable consequence of keeping woolly sheep.· They identify the mechanisms that make suburban sprawl possible, almost inevitable.· If the current mood sustains, the killing of a paedophile by the public seems almost inevitable.· Judgemade economic policy seems an almost inevitable consequence of a balanced-budget amendment in our litigious society.· In all the circumstances some rot of some kind was almost inevitable in a good proportion of gliders.
· They regard the conflicts between the centre and the locality as inevitable.· Conflict is viewed as inevitable and a normal part of the way things get done.· They also teach us to regard such disappointment as inevitable.· Health care was seldom a major political issue, and inequalities in its provision were considered as inevitable as inequalities in wealth.· Hence, class conflict is viewed as inevitable and indeed as the only major source of conflict in capitalist society.· Yet the return of the mayflies is no longer as inevitable as the return of May.· Were things as inevitable as they seem?
· All this is perhaps inevitable in a subject which is expanding at the rate of around 1000 research publications a year.· This, of course, would make the development of complexity probable, perhaps inevitable.· Is it not perhaps inevitable for all creatures with imagination, all creatures which can say no?· It was a tragedy, though perhaps inevitable, that these two great peoples met in conflict.· It is perhaps inevitable that professionals view advocates with a touch of apprehension and mistrust.· In undertaking such a vast development programme as the Mahaweli Project, it is perhaps inevitable that unanticipated problems arise.· This was perhaps inevitable, given the nature of the medium.· As we have seen, even though the Government Actuary's Department's guidelines are helpful, a rough-and-ready approach is perhaps inevitable.
· In retrospect, this split was probably inevitable.· Too bad, judging from the old films, but probably inevitable.· While full commercialization is probably inevitable, how the Internet will evolve is unclear.· As Henriques etal. acknowledge, such problems are probably inevitable.· Some drop out is probably inevitable.· But she argues that, because this marking is universal, it is probably inevitable.· In view of its relatively small budget and the size of the region, this is probably inevitable.· From that moment on, a split between de Gaulle and the parties was probably inevitable.
NOUN· Felt was an almost inevitable consequence of keeping woolly sheep.· Such loyalty is by no means automatic or the inevitable consequence of propinquity.· Our sole companion had been drinking heavily, with inevitable consequences.· This knowledge brings solace, because the organization is familiar with the inevitable consequences and believes it can effectively deal with them.· There were exaggerated expectations for one thing, a more or less inevitable consequence of those golden years.· Judgemade economic policy seems an almost inevitable consequence of a balanced-budget amendment in our litigious society.· Such a proliferation of bureaucracy is an inevitable consequence of the expansion of the activities of the state.· Finally, restricting has the inevitable consequence of spreading unhealthy fear throughout an organization.
· Old age was a phase of irrevocable and inevitable decline.· Oil and gas production in the Permian is on a seemingly inevitable decline.· There is then no selection, and an inevitable decline in viability and fertility.· Namely, the inevitable decline of pagan myth.
· Such barrenness is the inevitable outcome where two people are growing apart and out of love.· Although I favour examination rigour, further restriction on available content will be an inevitable outcome.· It was a sad but inevitable outcome of not maintaining a proper balance between productivity and personality.· An eleventh-century manuscript's depiction of war between Christians and Moors, and its inevitable outcome - baptism or execution.· Concern for comfort, health and certainty are inevitable outcomes of this physiological decline.· Given their workload, cuddling or talking to children is a luxury, and emotional deprivation an inevitable outcome.· Adverse side-effects are the inevitable outcome of such an onslaught.
· But to suggest it's an inevitable part of our continuing generation costs is simply wrong.· Alzheimer's is often seen as an inevitable part of ageing.· Yet a large public sector appeared to be an almost inevitable part of the modern economy.· Parsons's argument suggests that stratification is an inevitable part of all human societies.· Is this accumulation of plasmids an inevitable part of evolution's scheme to kill us off when our breeding days are over?· However, gaining weight is not an inevitable part of getting older.· However the body has several physical internal mechanisms for combating the adverse external conditions which are an inevitable part of living.
· The way her mind had been working at the time, it had been an almost inevitable question.· The inevitable question that all this raises is why?
· Therefore a draw becomes the inevitable result.· The inevitable result is that innocent people die at the hands of the state.· Magona has a surer touch when narrating the sweep of history that builds up to create inevitable results.· I interpret as the inevitable result of conflict between art and female obligation in upper-class, old-family Boston.· These are the inevitable results of leaving the merit of a book to be determined exclusively by market value.· With grain prices kept at an artificially high price thereafter, the further impoverishment of those already poor was the inevitable result.· Violence becomes, as a result, an appealing and even an inevitable result.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- Dinner started with the inevitable chicken soup.
- In the subway I got cornered by the inevitable drunkard wanting to give me some advice.
- It's time they accepted the inevitable and got a divorce.
- It was a typical student's room with the inevitable Van Gogh print on the wall.
- One day the inevitable happened and I got a speeding ticket.
- Week after week the papers were full of revelations about the minister's alleged corrupt dealings, until eventually he bowed to the inevitable and resigned.
WORD FAMILYnouninevitabilityadjectiveinevitableadverbinevitably
1certain to happen and impossible to avoid: A further escalation of the crisis now seems inevitable.it is inevitable (that) It’s inevitable that doctors will make the occasional mistake.inevitable consequence/result Disease was an inevitable consequence of poor living conditions.► see thesaurus at certain2the inevitable a situation that is certain to happen: One day the inevitable happened and I got a speeding ticket.