implacable

im·pla·ca·ble
I1M3P3L1A1C3A1B3L1E1
UK/ɪmˈplækəb(ə)l/UK/-ˈpleɪ-/US/ɪmˈplækəbəl/

adjective

Not able to be placated or appeased.

Meanings

adjectiveimplacable (comparative more implacable, superlative most implacable)

comparative more implacable · superlative most implacable

  1. Not able to be placated or appeased.
    2 more examples

    He is knight dubb'd with vnhatche'd Rapier, and on carpet conſideration, but he is a diuell in priuate brall, soules and bodies hath he diuorc'd three, and his incenſement at this moment is ſo implacable, that ſatisfaction can be none, but by pangs of death and ſepulcher: Hob, nob, is his word: giu't or take't.

    c. 1601–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or What You Will”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 269

    [I]n the reign of Henry the Second, a body happening, by chance, to be dug up near Glastonbury Abbey, without any symptoms of putrefaction or decay, the Welch, the descendants of the Ancient Britons, tenacious of the dignity and reputation of that illustrious hero [King Arthur], vainly supposed it could be no other than the body of their justly-boasted Pen-Dragon; and that he had been immured in that sepulchre by the spells of some powerful and implacable inchanter.

    1810, J[ohn] Stagg, “Arthur’s Cave. A Legendary Tale.”, in The Minstrel of the North: Or, Cumbrian Legends. […], London: Printed by Hamblin and Seyfang, […], for the author, and sold by J. Blacklock, […], →OCLC, page 105

    Synonyms: impacable, irreconcilable, unassuageable, unplacable, unpleasable · Antonyms: appeasable, assuageable, pacable, pacifiable, placable

  2. Impossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable.

    The battleships Washington and South Dakota pushed through the sea with an implacable ease.

    2011, James D. Hornfischer, “The Giants Ride”, in Neptune’s Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN; trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, 2012, →ISBN, page 345

    Synonyms: relentless, unremitting, unyielding

  3. Adamant; immovable.

    Indeed Cain hated his Brother, becauſe his own works were evil, and his Brothers righteous; and if thy Wife and Children have been offended with thee for this, they thereby ſhew themſelves to be implacable to good; and thou haſt delivered thy ſoul from their blood.

    1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress (The Noel Douglas Replicas), London, (Please provide a date or year), page 84

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveImpossible to prevent or stop; inexorable, unrelenting, unstoppable.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveincapable of being placated

Opposite

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinimplācābilis“unappeasable, implacable; irreconcilable”
  2. Old Frenchimplacable“harsh, unrelenting; implacable”
  3. Middle Englishimplācāble“immitigable, unappeasable”
  4. Englishimplacable

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)).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ἄσπονδος, ἄθελκτος
  • ἄσπονδος (áspondos)not able to be placated or appeased
  • ἄθελκτος (áthelktos)not able to be placated or appeased
Bulgarian неумолим, жесток
  • неумолим (neumolim)not able to be placated or appeased
  • жесток (žestok)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • непреклонен (nepreklonen)adamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Catalan implacable
  • implacablenot able to be placated or appeased
Czech neuklidnitelný, neutišitelný
  • neuklidnitelnýnot able to be placated or appeased
  • neutišitelnýnot able to be placated or appeased
  • nesmiřitelnýnot able to be placated or appeased
Danish stædig
  • stædigadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Dutch onverzoenlijk
  • onverzoenlijknot able to be placated or appeased
Finnish leppymätön
  • leppymätönnot able to be placated or appeased
French implacable, irréductible
  • implacableimpossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • irréductibleimpossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
German unversöhnlich, unerbittlich
  • unversöhnlichnot able to be placated or appeased
  • unerbittlichadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Greek ανευμενίσιμος, ανευμενίσιμη
  • ανευμενίσιμος (anevmenísimos)not able to be placated or appeased
  • ανευμενίσιμη (anevmenísimi)not able to be placated or appeased
  • ανευμενίσιμο (anevmenísimo)not able to be placated or appeased
  • αμείλικτος (ameíliktos)not able to be placated or appeased
  • αδυσώπητος (adysópitos)not able to be placated or appeased
  • αδυσώπητος (adysópitos)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • αδυσώπητη (adysópiti)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
Hungarian engesztelhetetlen, kérlelhetetlen
  • engesztelhetetlennot able to be placated or appeased
  • kérlelhetetlenadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Irish doshásta
  • doshástanot able to be placated or appeased
Italian implacabile, implacabile
  • implacabilenot able to be placated or appeased
  • implacabileimpossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
Latin implācābilis, implācābile
  • implācābilisnot able to be placated or appeased
  • implācābilenot able to be placated or appeased
Māori kaikiko
  • kaikikonot able to be placated or appeased
Norwegian uforsonlig
  • uforsonlignot able to be placated or appeased
Persian رام نشدنی, آشتی ناپذیر
  • رام نشدنیnot able to be placated or appeased
  • آشتی ناپذیرnot able to be placated or appeased
Polish nieubłagany
  • nieubłaganynot able to be placated or appeased
Portuguese implacável
  • implacávelnot able to be placated or appeased
Romanian implacabil, de neclintit
  • implacabilnot able to be placated or appeased
  • de neclintitadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • fermadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • imobiladamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • nemișcatadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • nemișcabiladamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Russian непримири́мый, неумоли́мый
  • непримири́мый (neprimirímyj)not able to be placated or appeased
  • неумоли́мый (neumolímyj)not able to be placated or appeased
  • закля́тый (zakljátyj)not able to be placated or appeased
  • неумолимый (neumolimyj)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • непрекло́нный (nepreklónnyj)adamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • несдвига́емый (nesdvigájemyj)adamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Spanish implacable, implacable
  • implacablenot able to be placated or appeased
  • implacableimpossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • implacableadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
  • tenazadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Swedish enveten
  • envetenadamant; immovable — see also adamant, immovable
Turkish yatıştırılamaz
  • yatıştırılamaznot able to be placated or appeased
Ukrainian непримире́нний, непримири́мий
  • непримире́нний (neprymyrénnyj)not able to be placated or appeased
  • непримири́мий (neprymyrýmyj)not able to be placated or appeased
  • невблаганний (nevblahannyj)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
  • непримире́нний (neprymyrénnyj)impossible to prevent or stop — see also inexorable, unstoppable
Cite this entry
APA

implacable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/implacable

MLA

“implacable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/implacable. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “implacable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/implacable.

Source: implacable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.