inviolable
adjective
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Inviolable is a venerable word that has been with us since the 15th century. Its opposite, violable ("capable of being or likely to be violated"), appeared in the following century. The 17th century English playwright Shackerley Marmion made good use of violable in A Fine Companion, writing, "Alas, my heart is Tender and violable with the least weapon Sorrow can dart at me." But English speakers have never warmed up to that word the way we have to inviolable, and it continues to be used much less frequently. Both terms descend from the Latin verb violare, which both shares the meaning with, and is an ancestor of, the English word violate.
Synonyms
Examples of inviolable in a Sentence
John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Further, in recent weeks, many universities have demonstrated that norms are not an inviolable constraint on their actions, dispensing with preexisting practices regarding student speech and protest — or even rewriting official rules — so as to discipline Pro-Palestinian advocacy.
—Eric Levitz, Vox, 15 May 2024
Under the Vienna treaties, embassies and diplomatic premises are considered foreign soil and inviolable.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2024
Only once that is built can the world provide justice to all those who have died and suffered in the war—and reaffirm the prohibition against war as an inviolable rule of the international order.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 17 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for inviolable 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inviolable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near inviolable
Cite this Entry
“Inviolable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inviolable. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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inviolable
adjective
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