ineluctable
/ɪn.ɪˈlʌk.tə.bəl/adjective
ineluctable is spelled I-N-E-L-U-C-T-A-B-L-E: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ineluctable means “Impossible to avoid or escape; inescapable, irresistible” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ineluctable?
| Letters | 11: I-N-E-L-U-C-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 18 million words; the 127,184th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ineluctable?
Ineluctable appears about once in every 18 million words in written English, the 127,184th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ineluctable?
- US /ɪn.ɪˈlʌk.tə.bəl/
Ineluctable has 5 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ineluctable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ineluctable
- more ineluctable comparative
- most ineluctable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ineluctable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Impossible to avoid or escape; inescapable, irresistible.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ineluctable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense impossible to avoid or escape:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inéluctable |
| German | unvermeidbar, unvermeidlich, unabwendbar, unausweichlich, unhintergehbar, unabweisbar |
| Portuguese | inevitável |
| Spanish | ineludible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ineluctable come from?
From Middle French inéluctable (whence in- + e- and -able), from Latin inēlūctābilis, from in- + ēlūctor (“struggle out”) + -bilis.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).