Word of the Week: Inexorable

My, how the days do fly. Here we are again with yet another (kettle drum goes BOM-bom-BOM-bom-BOM-bom-BOM-bom-BOMMMMM)...

This week's word is Inexorable.

in·ex·o·ra·ble (inˈeksərəbəl)
adjective
1. Impossible to stop or prevent.
2. (of a person) Impossible to persuade by request or entreaty.
synonyms: relentless, unstoppable, inescapable, inevitable, unavoidable, irrevocable, unalterable; persistent, continuous, nonstop, steady, interminable, incessant, unceasing, unremitting, unrelenting

Used in a sentence:

"In the howl of the wind, in the bitterness of the air, I sense the inexorable approach of Winter," said Mrs. M as she put the flannel sheets on the bed.

(No, I don't really talk like that. Or not usually.)

Most recently seen or heard in:

"The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis

Why I like this word:

Sternly grand and rather mysterious, it rolls around the mouth like organ chords in some vast cathedral. Inexorable is an austere and dignified word - I can feel my back straightening when I say it.

If Inexorable were a person, how would he look? Definitely male, for starters: pale and upright, narrow of jaw, with steely grey eyes and a firm mouth. He may be wearing a toga and laurel wreath; whatever he wears is worn with dignity.

Once he decides on a course of action, nothing can dissuade him; his greatest fault is the lack of a sense of humour. Because of this, Inexorable gets dragged into many a dry and depressing sentence (Google "inexorable quotes" and you'll see what I mean). It takes the lighter touch of a genius like P.G. Wodehouse to give Inexorable his proper due:

It would seem to be an inexorable law of Nature that no man shall shine at both ends. If he has a high forehead and a thirst for wisdom, his fox-trotting (if any) shall be as the staggerings of the drunken; while, if he is a good dancer, he is nearly always petrified from the ears upward. --The Man With Two Left Feet

I can't find anything funny to say about Inexorable - in fact he's rather difficult to be around, and very hard to work into conversation - but I like him nonetheless. He ranks right up there with Immortal, Invisible, Invincible, and Unalterable for sheer syllabic splendour. Like them, he should be used but sparely, lest he (and the speaker) descend into the realm of bombast.

Inexorable.

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Are there any words you like that you find hard to work into conversation? Do tell.

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