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unavoidable

/ˈʌnəˌvɔɪdəbəl/

/ənəˈvɔɪdəbəl/

IPA guide

Use the adjective unavoidable to describe something that you can't escape or avoid. Going to your family reunion is unavoidable if there's no way for you to get out of it.

Obligations are unavoidable, since they are responsibilities that have to be honored. Letting your grandmother pinch your cheek is unavoidable, and paying your rent is also unavoidable. As you get older, it's unavoidable that your knees will get stiffer — there is no way to avoid having this happen. Unavoidable comes from the verb avoid, which is rooted in the Anglo-French avoider, "to clear out or withdraw oneself."

Definitions of unavoidable
  1. adjective
    impossible to avoid or evade
    “an unavoidable accident”
    synonyms: ineluctable, inescapable
    inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
Pronunciation
US

/ˈʌnəˌvɔɪdəbəl/

UK

/ənəˈvɔɪdəbəl/

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