different between inalienable vs irrevocable

English

Etymology

Borrowed around 1645 from French inaliénable, from in- + aliénable (“alienable”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??ne?.l?.?.n?.b?l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??ne?.li.?.n?.b?l/

Adjective

inalienable (not comparable)

1. Incapable of being alienated, surrendered, or transferred to another; not alienable.

   inalienable right a right that cannot be given away

2. (grammar) 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.

Usage notes

While inalienable and unalienable are today used interchangeably (with inalienable the more common) the terms have historically sometimes been distinguished.

Synonyms

• unalienable

Antonyms

• (incapable of being alienated): alienable

Translations

References

Spanish

Adjective

inalienable (plural inalienables)

1. inalienable

English

Etymology

From Middle French [Term?], from Old French [Term?], from Latin irrevocabilis; equivalent to ir- +? revoke +? -able.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /????v?k?b(?)l/, /????v??k?b(?)l/
• (US) IPA^(key): /????v?k?b(?)l/, /????vo?k?b(?)l/, /??i?vo?k?b(?)l/

Adjective

irrevocable (not comparable)

1. Unable to be retracted or reversed; final.
   • c. 1599, William Shakespeare, As You Like It act 1, scene 3:

     Firm and irrevocable is my doom

     Which I have pass'd upon her; she is banish'd.

   • 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, chapter 61:

     On each face, wonder and fear were painted vividly; each so still and silent, looking at the other over the black gulf of the irrevocable past.

   • 2005 April 28, Samuel Abt, "Cycling: Cipo retires. Definitely. Absolutely. Yes. Probably," New York Times (retrieved 27 April 2014):

     Once again, Mario Cipollini has announced his definite, absolute, unswerving and irrevocable decision to retire, and this time he means it. Probably.

Usage notes

• Pronunciations with antepenultimate stress are common, but sometimes proscribed.

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

ir- +? revocable

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /i.r?.vo?ka.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /i.r?.bu?ka.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /i.re.vo?ka.ble/

Adjective

irrevocable (masculine and feminine plural irrevocables)

1. irrevocable

Antonyms

• revocable

Derived terms

• irrevocabilitat
• irrevocablement

Further reading

• “irrevocable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Spanish

Adjective

irrevocable (plural irrevocables)

1. irrevocable