Skip to main content
inevitability

inevitability

29 5.8
Something that cannot be avoided and will happen
  • noun
  • /ɪˌnɛvɪˈtæbɪlɪti/
translation icon : inevitabilidad
  • "For with the state comes not simply the possibility but the inevitability of war."
  • accept the inevitability
  • recognize the inevitability
  • sense of inevitability

It's where like inevitability meets surprise.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • And now we see that death becomes, you know, not just an option, but almost an inevitability for both sides.

  • Where it was not so helpful was in preparing oneself for the inevitability of historical decline.

    Academic text (2008)
  • And the big thing is to maintain the inevitability that action is going to be taken.

  • So far in this article, emphasis has been put on the inevitability of change.

    Academic text (1995)
  • But we are locked into this idea around the inevitability of our aging.

  • There is a certain rightness, an inevitability, about their decline.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Generally, we historians don't like the concept of inevitability, and that may be obvious.

  • So that's what gives me hope is believing in the, you know, believing in the inevitability of justice.

  • In the second scenario, the inevitability of structural fluctuations provides the basis for the device's function.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Bad weather is an inevitability during the rainy season.

Synonyms

certainty
vsinevitability
  • Literature
202 3.4

A strong feeling that something is true or will happen

is about events being certain to happen rather than a personal feeling of sureness
foregone conclusion
vsinevitability
  • Informal
14 3.7

A result that is sure to happen and cannot be changed

is the abstract state of being certain rather than a specific result
inexorability
vsinevitability
  • Formal
1 9.9

Something that cannot be stopped or changed

is about being certain to happen rather than active relentlessness
inevitableness
vsinevitability
7.9

A state where something is certain to happen and cannot be avoided

is a different word form with the same meaning
unavoidability
vsinevitability
7.8

A situation that cannot be stopped or prevented

is an alternative word form with the same sense
ineluctability
vsinevitability
9.9

The fact that something cannot be avoided

is the same idea expressed as a different word form
inexorableness
vsinevitability
  • Formal
9.9

The quality of not stopping no matter what happens

is about being certain to happen rather than stubborn determination

Antonyms

296 4.0

Not being sure about what will happen or what to do

How Inevitable

certainty
  • Literature
202 3.4
inevitability
29 5.8
likelihood
274 3.6
possibility
2.0
uncertainty
296 4.0

Surface Forms

inevitability singular

Morphology

inevitability = inevitable (semi-transparent) = in + evit + able + ity

This is a regular noun formation from the adjective 'inevitable', and the meaning 'state or quality of being inevitable' is directly predictable.

Etymology

Inevitability comes from Latin parts in- 'not' and evitare 'to avoid', and it shares the same root as the everyday word avoid. So inevitability is the quality of being 'not avoidable' — something certain to happen.