unavoidable

adjective

un·​avoid·​able ˌən-ə-ˈvȯi-də-bəl How to pronounce unavoidable (audio)
: not avoidable : inevitable
The accident was unavoidable.
unavoidably adverb

Examples of unavoidable in a Sentence

unfortunately, kitchen duty will be unavoidable tonight
Recent Examples on the Web But without Curry, the truth of those players becomes unavoidable. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Such messages—some more helpful than others—became an unavoidable part of navigating pandemic life. Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 29 Feb. 2024 As a result, the master plan will result in significant and unavoidable impacts across eight different categories studied in the environmental impact report, including air quality, water quality and transportation. Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2024 Experimenting is risky because failure is an unavoidable part of the process. Jia Rizvi, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 The Legislative Analyst’s Office predicted that the shortfall may be much higher than Newsom calculated and cuts will be unavoidable. Calmatters, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024 An ancient lake Back in the Pleistocene, however, the water would have been unavoidable. Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024 In sum, Eras forests could emerge as template for actors with unavoidable large carbon footprint to address climate issues and the associated inequalities. Nives Dolsak and Aseem Prakash, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024 An unavoidable talking point with this topic is that migrants are a drain on our resources. Rafael Perez, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'unavoidable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unavoidable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near unavoidable

Cite this Entry

“Unavoidable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unavoidable. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

unavoidable

adjective
un·​avoid·​able ˌən-ə-ˈvȯid-ə-bəl How to pronounce unavoidable (audio)
: not avoidable : inevitable
the accident was unavoidable
unavoidably adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on unavoidable

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!