: impossible to take away or give up : inalienable
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. United States Declaration of Independence
… it's hard to say whether the partisan noise could influence an election, or whether it's New York simply exercising its unalienable right to be New York. Audra D. S. Burch
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Each human being is endowed with the unalienable right to life at her creation, not her birth. The Editors, National Review, 6 Sep. 2022 This would be determined by original grants, presumably, since land was to be unalienable, never to be bought or sold. Marilynne Robinson, Harper’s Magazine , 20 July 2022 Clinicians, in defense of our future patients’ lives, need to proactively address the misinformation and empower patients, citizens, politicians and judges to focus on the most unalienable of human rights: the right to live a healthy life. Matthew Meyer, Scientific American, 1 July 2022 Commitment to period-appropriate details — like those shaky yet era-specific natural horns — is an unalienable Haymarket signature. Hannah Edgar, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2022 Our form of government must navigate the difficult tension between democracy, the idea that governments derive their power from the consent of the governed, and liberalism, the idea that the governed have certain unalienable rights. WSJ, 10 May 2022 Most famously, Thomas Jefferson declared the pursuit of happiness an unalienable right in the Declaration of Independence. Arthur C. Brooks, The Atlantic, 5 May 2022 Where many think of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s distinctive sound as something unalienable from its music director, or even its musicians, under Wolfe’s leadership, the Chicago Symphony Chorus became an expert shape-shifter. Hannah Edgar, chicagotribune.com, 24 Feb. 2022 But the right to celebrity is considered unalienable. Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2022 See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unalienable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1611, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of unalienable was circa 1611
Dictionary Entries Near unalienable
Cite this Entry
“Unalienable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, //www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unalienable. Accessed 29 Oct. 2022.
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Last Updated: 5 Oct 2022
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