1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
unfortunately, he was destined to live out his days as an irrecoverable alcoholic
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreversible
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
one computer file proved to be irrecoverable after the crash
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of irrecoverable
An irrecoverable loss of the entirety of our personal data.
—
Shannon Bond, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.
—Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.
—Dan Catchpole, USA Today, 18 July 2025
Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787’s engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 16 July 2025
Crestfallen fans have begun demanding refunds for hundreds of dollars in ticket purchases to defray irrecoverable travel and lodging costs.
—Jia H. Jung, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
Customs Duty, which is irrecoverable. Import VAT, which can be reclaimed, provided correct steps are taken.
—Robert Marchant, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
The contents of the time capsule may become irrecoverable.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Shannon Bond, NPR, 11 Mar. 2026
Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.
—Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787's engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.
—Dan Catchpole, USA Today, 18 July 2025
Aviation experts have said a preliminary report from India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) raised questions over whether one of the pilots of Air India flight 171 cut off fuel to the Boeing 787’s engines seconds after takeoff, leading to an irrecoverable situation.
—Reuters, CNN Money, 16 July 2025
Crestfallen fans have begun demanding refunds for hundreds of dollars in ticket purchases to defray irrecoverable travel and lodging costs.
—Jia H. Jung, Mercury News, 11 July 2025
Customs Duty, which is irrecoverable. Import VAT, which can be reclaimed, provided correct steps are taken.
—Robert Marchant, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025
The contents of the time capsule may become irrecoverable.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrecoverable
Adjective
-
Kay seems to be more of a relentless romantic than a hopeless one.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Swiss Eugen Bleuler, a follower of Kraepelin, replaced the term dementia praecox, which implied hopeless deterioration, with the softer term schizophrenia.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The outcome hinges on whether Iran can secure an agreement to lift international sanctions — without which economists warn the economic damage could prove irreversible.—
Amir-Hussein Radjy,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
For some galaxies, the shutdown might be irreversible, a truly permanent end to star formation, likely due to severe gas loss.—
Paul Sutter,
Space.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For Isaac, the film also captures something irretrievable.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Days before, Sheriff Nanos had said images were irretrievable.—
Richard Ruelas,
AZCentral.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Earlier this year, the Environmental Protection Agency rescinded several longstanding environmental regulations, including gutting the 2009 endangerment finding and rolling back air quality standards for coal-burning power plants, which advocates say will cause irreparable harm.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
27 Apr. 2026
-
The Court’s tendency to side with the White House in such cases, if only temporarily, has allowed serious constitutional harm to continue, and has, in some cases, done irreparable damage.—
Gregg Nunziata,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
His remains were determined to be unrecoverable in 1956 until new DNA testing led to his homecoming.—
Bri Buckley,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
-
It was pronounced unrecoverable.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Poet-activist Andrea Gibson and their partner Megan Falley confront Andrea’s incurable ovarian cancer diagnosis as cameras follow them, exploring how this journey deepens their love and appreciation for life.—
Brande Victorian,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Apr. 2026
-
In the 1980s and 1990s, the figure of the addict abruptly shifted from being considered deserving of medical treatment to being seen as an emblem of incurable criminality.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrecoverable. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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