Inalienable
What it means
Unable to be justly taken away, surrendered, or transferred.
Reach for it when describing a right or dignity treated as inherent to the person
The charter recognizes equal dignity as an inalienable right.
Words to choose between 6
| professional | |
|---|---|
| formal |
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| literary |
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professional
fundamental
Fits when the right or principle forms a necessary foundation
Careful Fundamental marks importance without establishing that it cannot be transferred.
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professional
nontransferable
Fits when a right, ticket, or entitlement cannot pass to another holder
Careful Nontransferable concerns assignment and does not prevent revocation.
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formal
absolute
Fits when no stated exception or qualification is intended
Careful Absolute can overstate a right whose exercise has lawful limits.
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formal
inherent
Fits when the quality belongs to the thing by its nature
Careful Inherent does not say whether law or power can remove its exercise.
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formal
nonforfeitable
Fits when the entitlement cannot be lost through a stated failure or waiver
Careful Nonforfeitable concerns forfeiture and does not rule out every form of transfer.
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literary
birthright
Fits when the entitlement is imagined as belonging from birth
Careful Birthright is a noun and can carry hereditary or national assumptions.
Opposites 3
- alienable
- transferable
- revocable
Common phrases 3
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inalienable right
The declaration treats bodily autonomy as an inalienable right.
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inalienable dignity
The policy begins from each person's inalienable dignity.
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consider inalienable
The community came to consider clean water an inalienable public good.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Commander Keane, Australian accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated