inalienable
/ɪˈneɪ.li.ə.nə.bəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.69 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
5
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not subject to being alienated, that is, surrendered, taken away, or transferred to another.
adj
Of or pertaining to a noun belonging to a special class in which the possessive construction differs from the norm, especially for particular familial relationships and body parts, regarding permanence.
Example Sentences
- "Near-synonyms: indelible, unsurrenderable, permanent"
- "An inalienable right is a right that cannot be given away nor taken away."
- ""Know thy own worth, and reverence the lyre," is a line that should be as a fillet bound round the brow—a philactory embroidered on the garments of every son and daughter of Adam distinguished by the possession of that sacred gift, which, whether used or abused, applauded in itself or derided in its possessor, is the highest and the most inalienable distinction humanity ever has or ever can be gifted with, whether bestowed on the highest or the humblest being, in the great mass to which we all belong."
- "Liberalism in Struve's sense is above all a nominalist conception, rejecting the idea that any suprapersonal collective entity such as society or the state can claim to encroach upon the inalienable rights of the individual, his freedom and urge towards unlimited self-perfection."
- "Just as some languages have a "be" for permanent states (which are essential) and a different "be" for temporary states (which are incidental), some languages have a "have" for unchangeable possession (which is inalienable) and a different "have" for changeable possession (which is alienable)."
Etymology
Borrowed around 1645 from French inaliénable, from in- + aliénable (“alienable”), equivalent to in- + alienable.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪˈneɪ.li.ə.nə.bəl/
- British English: /ɪˈneɪ.lɪ.ə.nə.bəl/