incommutable
incommutable — adjective
- incommutablepositive
- more incommutablecomparative
- most incommutablesuperlative
1. Describes a right, duty, payment, or penalty that cannot be exchanged, transferr
Describes a right, duty, payment, or penalty that cannot be exchanged, transferred, or converted into an equivalent alternative — for example, a prison sentence that cannot be commuted to community service, or a pension that cannot be taken as a lump sum.
Judge Marta ruled that the five-year sentence was incommutable and could not be reduced to community service.
be incommutable (sentence cannot be commuted)
The scholarship offered by the Watanabe Foundation was incommutable, so Mayumi could not transfer it to another university.
incommutable + scholarship (cannot be transferred)
The contract stated that Ignacio's pension rights were incommutable and could not be exchanged for a lump sum.
The terms of the original contract were incommutable, so Roya could not renegotiate them.
- immutable
broader; describes anything that never changes, not just things that cannot be exchanged
- unalterable
more common; focuses on inability to change rather than inability to exchange
- commutable
the direct opposite; able to be exchanged or changed
- changeable
general term for anything that can become different
文法句型
incommutable + noun
be incommutable
用法筆記
Frequently used in legal or formal contexts to describe rights, obligations, or conditions that are fixed by a higher authority.
常見錯誤
2. Used to describe two or more things that are so different in nature, value, or f
Used to describe two or more things that are so different in nature, value, or function that one cannot replace the other.
Ritu realized that the spare parts for her Japanese car were incommutable with parts from the European model.
incommutable with + noun (parts cannot be swapped)
The two dialects are incommutable in legal documents, so Emre's translator kept each one separate.
incommutable in + noun (register-specific non-substitutability)
Hana discovered that a cash payment and an equivalent amount of stock options were incommutable for tax purposes.
Dr. Niran's study showed that the two enzymes were incommutable in digestion, each breaking down a different kind of food.
The village council ruled that the two fishing rights were incommutable because they belonged to different coastal communities.
- non-interchangeable
more transparent in meaning but less common in formal prose
- irreplaceable
closer in meaning but implies unique value, not just inability to swap
- distinct
much more common; describes things as different without specifying exchange
- interchangeable
the direct opposite; able to be substituted for one another
- substitutable
technical term for things that can replace each other
文法句型
be incommutable (between two things)
incommutable + noun
用法筆記
Subject is typically two or more items being compared. The items are usually contrasted by type, origin, or function.
常見錯誤
3. Describes a rule, condition, schedule, or legal status that is permanently set a
Describes a rule, condition, schedule, or legal status that is permanently set and cannot be altered, overridden, or adjusted by any person or process — for example, a statutory deadline that cannot be extended, or a heritage restriction that cannot be waived.
The race cutoff was incommutable, and Tomás had to finish by noon or get no medal.
be incommutable (time limits cannot be changed)
Kabir faced an incommutable tax-filing deadline that the revenue office refused to extend even after the flood.
incommutable + deadline (cannot be extended)
Lotte considered her move to Akita for graduate school to be incommutable, so she stopped applying elsewhere.
Asher discovered that the building's original nineteenth-century floor plan was incommutable because of strict heritage protection laws.
Imani understood that the stock vesting schedule was incommutable and could not be accelerated.
- immutable
more common in scientific and philosophical writing
- unalterable
slightly less formal; common in everyday contexts
- fixed
the most common alternative; used in a wide range of registers
- changeable
general opposite; able to become different
- mutable
formal opposite; capable of being changed
文法句型
be incommutable
incommutable + noun
用法筆記
Unlike 'immutable' which often describes laws of nature or abstract truths, this sense is used for concrete rules, deadlines, and personal decisions that are firmly fixed.