unavoidable

[ uhn-uh-voi-duh-buhl ]

adjective

1. unable to be avoided; inevitable:

   an unavoidable delay.

   Synonyms: unpreventable, certain, sure, fated, inescapable

unavoidable

/ ˌʌnəˈvɔɪdəbəl /

adjective

1. unable to be avoided; inevitable
2. law not capable of being declared null and void

Derived Forms

• ˌunaˈvoidably, adverb
• ˌunaˌvoidaˈbility, noun

Other Words From

• una·voida·bili·ty una·voida·ble·ness noun
• una·voida·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unavoidable¹

1570–80; un- ¹ + avoidable ( def )

Example Sentences

The worthy effort to emphasize that much of the artist’s inventive genius — unfurling in thousands of manuscript pages, rather than oil paint and tempera — makes the dull staging a perhaps unavoidable conceit.

From Los Angeles Times

Gauke told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that this autumn's crisis release of prisoners was unavoidable for the new Labour government because of "the circumstances they inherited".

From BBC

“Permanently posting the Ten Commandments in every Louisiana public-school classroom—rendering them unavoidable—unconstitutionally pressures students into religious observance, veneration, and adoption of the state’s favored religious scripture,” the parents wrote in their court filing.

From Salon

“Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable.”

From Salon

An unavoidable explanation began to emerge - the two baby girls had been switched at birth, 55 years previously, and brought up in different families.

From BBC

Related Words

• certain
• inescapable
• inevitable
• necessary
• obligatory