- Today's Word
Inexorable
in-EKS-uh-ruh-buhl
Definition
(adjective) Impossible to stop, persuade, or prevent.
Example
The inexorable advance of technology reshaped every industry.
Fun Fact
Inexorable is a favorite in literature and history writing—used to describe forces, people, or progress that cannot be swayed. It originally referred to people who wouldn’t respond to pleading, but now it also captures time, decay, destiny, or power. It’s often used to describe change that is slow but certain, like rising tides or demographic shifts.
(adjective) Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline; stubbornly resistant to control
The recalcitrant student refused to put away his phone despite three separate warnings from the teacher.
Recalcitrant comes from the Latin recalcitrare — from re- (“back”) + calcitrare (“to kick”) — itself derived from calx (“heel”). The original image is vividly literal: a horse or mule kicking back against its rider or handler. It entered English in the 19th century, retaining that core sense of stubborn, physical resistance before broadening to describe any obstinate defiance of authority.