implacable

[im-plak-uh-buhl, -pley-kuh-]

adjective

1. not to be appeased, mollified, or pacified; inexorable.

   an implacable enemy.

   Synonyms: merciless, unbending, unappeasable

implacable

/ ɪmˈplækəbəl /

adjective

1. incapable of being placated or pacified; unappeasable

2. inflexible; intractable

Other Word Forms

• implacability noun
• implacableness noun
• implacably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of implacable¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English word from Latin word implācābilis. See im- ², placable

Synonym Study

See inflexible.

Example Sentences

Indeed, I found myself feeling a personal bond with the calm and implacable voice guiding our progress even as my spouse spluttered and argued.

From Los Angeles Times

Craig Wallace’s Telégin, known as “Waffles” for his pockmarked skin, is an amiable fumbler yet suffused with kindness and possessing an implacable decency.

From Los Angeles Times

But, as in “Men,” Kinnear’s appearance of placidity makes his characters’ nefarious tendencies even more chilling; his ability to draw his mouth into a grim implacable line is second to none.

From Los Angeles Times

Sen, who also handled both the black-and-white cinematography and the editing, has a terrific eye for shot composition and sets a deliberate pace that feels implacable rather than merely slow.

From New York Times

Some, like a sashaying cover of Jeanette’s “Porque Te Vas,” are impeccably stylish, others like “The Crying Game” are implacably melancholy.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• inexorable 
• intractable 
• relentless 
• ruthless 
• uncompromising 
• unforgiving 
• unrelenting 
• unyielding