evitable

IPA/ˈev.ɪ.tə.bəl/
IPA/ˈev.ə.t̬ə.bəl/

evitable — adjective

  • evitablepositive
  • more evitablecomparative
  • most evitablesuperlative

1. used to describe a bad or unwanted event that people can stop from happening by

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

used to describe a bad or unwanted event that people can stop from happening by taking the right action

Example

Erik believed the argument between the two families was evitable if they sat down to talk.

be + evitable + if-clause

Tanvi knew the delay in her project was evitable with better planning from the start.

be + evitable + with + noun phrase

Common collocations
  • evitable with careful planning
  • evitable if caught early
  • hardly evitable
  • perfectly evitable
Synonyms
  • avoidable

    everyday equivalent; use in most contexts instead of 'evitable'

  • preventable

    stronger emphasis on stopping something before it starts, often used in health or safety contexts

Antonyms
  • inevitable

    the common opposite; describes something that cannot be avoided no matter what

  • unavoidable

    everyday synonym of 'inevitable', used in informal and neutral registers

Grammar Patterns

be + evitable + if + clause

be + evitable + with + noun phrase

Usage Note

Far less common than its opposite 'inevitable'. In everyday conversation, speakers strongly prefer 'avoidable'. 'Evitable' appears mainly in formal or literary writing.

Common Mistakes

I believe this problem is evitable if we act now.
I believe this problem is avoidable if we act now.
'evitable' sounds overly formal in everyday speech; 'avoidable' is the natural choice.
The outcome was inevitable, not evitable.' (using 'inevitable' where the context calls for negation).
The outcome was not evitable.' or 'The outcome was inevitable.
'inevitable' is the common word; 'evitable' is its rare opposite.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three describe something that can be stopped from happening. 'Avoidable' is the everyday word — you use it in conversation about minor mishaps or social situations ('an avoidable misunderstanding', 'easily avoidable delays'). 'Preventable' carries stronger urgency and is typical in health, safety, and policy contexts ('preventable diseases', 'preventable accidents'), implying that concrete action existed to stop the event. 'Evitable' is the rarest of the three, found almost exclusively in formal or literary writing, and often in the shadow of its far more common opposite 'inevitable'. A writer might say 'a tragedy not entirely evitable' for stylistic effect, where 'avoidable' would feel too direct.

avoidable ↗preventable ↗evitable ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Comes from Latin 'ēvītāre' (to avoid), formed from 'ē-' (out, away) plus 'vītāre' (to shun, avoid). English borrowed it through French in the 15th century. The word survives almost entirely through its negative form 'inevitable' (from Latin 'in-' + 'ēvītābilis', 'unavoidable'), which became common in English by the 17th century, while the bare positive form gradually retreated to formal use.

First known use

1502

1502, in the meaning defined above