inviolable

English

Etymology

From Middle French inviolable, from Latin inviolābilis (“untouchable”), from violō (“violate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪnˈvaɪələbl̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: in‧vi‧o‧la‧ble

Adjective

inviolable (comparative more inviolable, superlative most inviolable)

1. Not violable; not to be infringed.

   Synonyms: unbreakable, unbreachable

   Antonyms: (incapable of being complied) incompliable, (capable of being violated) violable, (capable of being violated) breakable

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 842–844:

     But come, for thou, be ſure, ſhalt give account / To him who ſent us, whoſe charge is to keep / This place inviolable, and therefore theſe from harm.

   • a. 1682, Sir Thomas Browne, “Christian Morals”, in Henry Gardiner, editor, Religio Medici, together with a Letter to a Friend on the Death of His Intimate Friend and Christian Morals, London: W. Pickering, published 1845, part III, page 337:

     But honeſt men’s words are Stygian oaths, and promiſes inviolable.

   • 1828, Thomas Castaly, “The Recorder”, in Fanny with Other Poems, page 87:

     One more request, and I am lost, / If you its earnest prayer deny ; / It is, that you preserve the most / Inviolable secrecy / As to my plan.

   • 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed‎^[1]:

     "Now, Mr. Jones, having obtained your promise of inviolable secrecy, I come down to the essential point."

2. Not susceptible to violence, or of being profaned, corrupted, or dishonoured.

   Synonyms: holy, sacred, sacrosanct

   Antonym: violable

3. Incapable of being injured or invaded; indestructible.

   Synonyms: invincible, unassailable

   Antonym: invadable

Derived terms

• inviolability
• inviolableness
• inviolably

 

Translations

not violable; not to be infringed

• Bulgarian: ненарушим (bg) (nenarušim), неприкосновен (bg) (neprikosnoven)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不可違反 / 不可违反 (bùkě wéifǎn)

• Dutch: onschendbaar (nl)
• Finnish: loukkaamaton (fi), koskematon (fi)
• French: inviolable (fr)
• German: unantastbar (de), unverletzlich (de)
• Greek: απαράβατος (el) (aparávatos)

  Ancient: ἀβέβηλος (abébēlos), ἀάατος (aáatos) (Epic)

• Japanese: 破ってはならない (ja) (yabutte wa naranai), 厳守の (ja) (genshu no)
• Macedonian: неповредлив (nepovredliv)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ukrenkelig

  Nynorsk: ukrenkeleg, ukrenkjeleg

• Polish: nienaruszalny (pl), nietykalny (pl)
• Portuguese: inviolável
• Russian: неруши́мый (ru) (nerušímyj), неприкоснове́нный (ru) (neprikosnovénnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: neprikosnoven (sh) m, nenarušiv (sh) m
• Spanish: inviolable (es)
• Swedish: okränkbar (sv)
• Ukrainian: непору́шний (neporúšnyj), недоторка́нний (nedotorkánnyj)

incapable of being injured or invaded

• Bulgarian: неуязвим (bg) (neujazvim)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 不可侵犯 (bùkě qīnfàn)

• Irish: dosháraithe
• Japanese: 不可侵の (ja) (fukashin no), 侵せない (ja) (okasenai), 侵略できない (ja) (shinryaku dekinai)
• Portuguese: inviolável
• Serbo-Croatian: nepovrediv (sh) m

References

• “inviolable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “inviolable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

From Latin inviolābilis (“untouchable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.vjɔ.labl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: inviolables

Adjective

inviolable (plural inviolables)

1. inviolable

Further reading

• “inviolable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin inviolābilis (“untouchable”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /imbjoˈlable/ [ĩm.bjoˈla.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: in‧vio‧la‧ble

Adjective

inviolable m or f (masculine and feminine plural inviolables)

1. inviolable

Derived terms

• inviolablemente

 

Further reading

• “inviolable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10