implacable

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪmˈplækəbəl/ UK /ɪmˈplækəb(ə)l/ See IPA manual

Freq #43522

Meanings

1

adj
incapable of being placated

An implacable enemy.
2

adj
Not able to be placated or appeased.

He faced an implacable opponent.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · not able to be placated or... impacableirreconcilableunassuageableunplacableunpleasable

Word family

Forms implacabilityimplacably

Derived forms implacabilityimplacablenessimplacably

Related forms placability placableplacablenessplacablyunplacable

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

implacable enemy
an opponent whose hostility cannot be softened or reconciled

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Implacable is recorded from the late Middle English period and belongs to the same word family as please, which came through Old French plaisir, “to please,” from Latin placere.

Etymology

From Middle English implācāble (“immitigable, unappeasable”) from Old French implacable (“harsh, unrelenting; implacable”) (modern French implacable), from Latin implācābilis (“unappeasable, implacable; irreconcilable”), from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + plācābilis (“placable; appeasing, moderating, pacifying, propitiating; acceptable”) (from plācō (“to assuage, pacify, placate; to appease; to reconcile”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon)).

implācāble Middle English implacable Old French implācābilis Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# implacable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪmˈplækəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪmˈplækəb(ə)l/
**Frequency rank:** 43522

## Meanings
1. incapable of being placated
2. Not able to be placated or appeased.

## Examples
- An implacable enemy.
- He faced an implacable opponent.

## Derived Forms
- implacability
- implacableness
- implacably

## Related Forms
- placability
- placable
- placableness
- placably
- unplacable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: implācāble
- Root: implacable
- Root: implācābilis

## Etymology
From Middle English implācāble (“immitigable, unappeasable”) from Old French implacable (“harsh, unrelenting; implacable”) (modern French implacable), from Latin implācābilis (“unappeasable, implacable; irreconcilable”), from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + plācābilis (“placable; appeasing, moderating, pacifying, propitiating; acceptable”) (from plācō (“to assuage, pacify, placate; to appease; to reconcile”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon)).

## AI Etymology
implacable is an adjective meaning incapable of being placated. From Middle English implācāble (“immitigable, unappeasable”) from Old French implacable (“harsh, unrelenting; implacable”) (modern French implacable), from Latin implācābilis (“unappeasable, implacable; irreconcilable”), from im- (variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’)) + plācābilis (“placable; appeasing, moderating, pacifying, propitiating; acceptable”) (from plācō (“to assuage, pacify, placate; to appease; to reconcile”) + -bilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon)).

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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