adjective

ineluctable

in-ih-LUHK-tuh-bul/ˌɪnɪˈlʌktəbl/

Impossible to avoid or resist.

The flush glass rim makes confinement ineluctable for the trapped beetle.

A beetle trapped beneath an inverted clear drinking glass presses against the glass wall; the rim rests flush on a smooth tabletop, leaving no route of escape.

Etymology

inLatinnot

+eLatinout of

+luctLatinto struggle, wrestle

+ableLatincapable of being

The underlying image is something you cannot struggle out of. Ineluctable describes what cannot be escaped even through effort, hence anything unavoidable.

In context

Prof. Sam Vaknin37:25

the almost ineluctable eventuality that you'll end up in the same situation

Narcissism - Quo Vadis? (with Anwesh Satpathy)

More examples

The evidence points to one ineluctable conclusion.
She feels an ineluctable pull toward her hometown.
Higher prices are an ineluctable consequence of the shortage.

Forms

ineluctable

ineluctably adverb — In a way that cannot be avoided.

Similar words

inevitable: Emphasizes certainty that something will happen despite efforts to prevent it.
inescapable: Emphasizes being unable to escape a situation or conclusion.