1
Core quality
Unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
Example
The categories are historical conventions, not immutable truths.
immutable
/ɪˈmjuːtəbəl/ · ih-MYOO-tuh-buladjective
Unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
Use immutable to express this relationship precisely: unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
What immutable Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Researchers once treated the genetic code as effectively immutable.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
The charter's principles were important but not immutable.
Use immutable Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The categories are historical conventions, not immutable truths.
Researchers once treated the genetic code as effectively immutable.
The charter's principles were important but not immutable.
Precision Matters
Immutable overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
immutable
vs.Means unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
irrevocable
Means impossible to reverse, revoke, alter, or take back.
immutable
vs.Means unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
ineluctable
Means inescapable; inevitable.
immutable
vs.Means unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
predetermined
Means decided, fixed, or set in advance.
immutable
vs.Means unchanging over time or incapable of being changed.
malleable
Means easily shaped, changed, influenced, or adapted.
Test immutable in Context
The boundary can change rather than remaining permanently fixed.
1
New evidence shows that the boundary is not ___ but has shifted repeatedly over centuries.