irresistible

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin irresistibilis,^[2][3][4][5] formed from in- (“not”) (assimilated as ir-) and resistō (“to withstand”),^[2][3] the source of resist, itself from re- (“against”) and sistō (“to stand firm”).^[3] The Shorter Oxford and Merriam-Webster also allow a formation in English from ir- and resistible.^[6][7] The OED compares French irrésistible, admitted by the French Academy in 1762.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

That cannot be withstood: 1597, in Hooker's Of Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie.^[2][7] Johnson quotes Hooker's phrase "irresistible power to hurt".^[8]

Semantic evolution

The OED's first sense covers both what is too strong to be opposed and what is too fascinating to be refused.^[2] A political sense, "not to be lawfully resisted", is recorded in Prynne in 1643 and is now obsolete.^[2] The noun, an irresistible person, appears in 1774.^[2][7] Johnson (1755) defined it as "superior to opposition",^[8] and Webster (1828) gave it the same sense.^[9] Its base resistible is recorded only later, from 1608 in Merriam-Webster and 1617 in the OED.^[7][2]

Timeline

• 1597 – that cannot be withstood or refused.^[2][7]
• 1643 – not to be lawfully resisted (obsolete).^[2]
• 1774 – noun, an irresistible person.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Too strong or powerful to be resisted; overwhelming: an irresistible urge to laugh.^[10][7][2]
2. Very attractive or tempting; impossible to refuse: The bakery's smell was irresistible.^[10][2]

Noun

1. An irresistible person or thing.^[7][2]

Word family

• irresistibility
• irresistibly

Related words

• resist
• resistible
• resistance
• irresistible grace

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
9. ^ Webster, Noah (1828), An American Dictionary of the English Language, New York: S. Converse
10. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins