inevitable
Certain to happen and impossible to avoid.
- With the score at ten-nil, defeat seemed inevitable.
- With so many dark clouds gathering, rain during the picnic felt inevitable.
Similar: certain, sure, expected
inevitable or likely?
Likely leaves room for it not to happen. Inevitable leaves none.
This is one of the closest traps in the bank, because likely really is in the right area. It is simply not strong enough.
Likely is a probability: it will probably happen, and it might not. Inevitable removes the second half entirely — it is certain to happen and impossible to avoid.
The test that settles it: if it could still be avoided, it is not inevitable. Rain during the picnic is likely the moment the clouds gather, and inevitable only once it starts.
inevitable, in full
likely is not one of the words we teach — it is a word your child already has. That is exactly why it is the one they reach for.
Why it costs marks
The bank's synonyms for inevitable are certain, sure and expected, and unlikely is listed as an antonym — so likely sits awkwardly close to the opposite. Words of degree like this are exactly what closest-meaning questions are built on.
Definitions and example sentences on this page are the ones a child sees inside Wordrealm, taken from our list of over 1,100 words. It is free to browse, with nothing to sign up for.
Sitting the 11+ in Kent, Medway or Buckinghamshire?
Plain-English guides to each test, from the councils’ own pages: Kent Test · Medway Test · Bucks Secondary Transfer Test