Etymologically
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irresistible

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Pronunciation

  • /ˌɪɹ.ɪˈzɪs.tə.bəl/[1]

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

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