Immutable may describe something that is incapable of change, but the word itself—like all words—is mutable, both capable of and prone to alteration. To put a finer point on it, if language were fixed, we wouldn’t have immutable itself, which required a variety of mutations of the Latin verb mutare (“to change”) to reach our tongues (or pens, keyboards, or touchscreens—oh the many permutations of communication!). Other English words that can be traced back to mutare include mutate, transmute, and commute. Which reminds us—the mutability of language makes great food for thought during one’s commute.
the immutable laws of nature
one of the immutable laws of television is that low ratings inevitably lead to cancellation
Recent Examples on the WebBut certain characteristics are immutable: a red bow over her left ear, no mouth, and an ascetic, almost ethereal, expression.—Charlie Campbell, TIME, 27 June 2024 No matter how smart your engineers, the laws of physics are immutable.—Angus MacKenzie, Robb Report, 19 June 2024 Those are the immutable book ends of summer and some will just not be budged, regardless of what the sun is doing outside.—Louis J. Esterhazy, WWD, 16 June 2024 The vision of a universal, indisputable, and immutable ranking of merit—the old-style canon—is ridiculous.—Laurent Dubreuil, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for immutable
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immutable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin immutabilis, from in- + mutabilis mutable
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