unrecoverable

adjective

un·​re·​cov·​er·​able ˌən-ri-ˈkə-və-rə-bəl 

-ˈkəv-rə-

1

: unable to be recovered, recaptured, or regained : hopelessly lost : irrecoverable

unrecoverable loans

2

: unable to be corrected : irremediable

an unrecoverable error/failure

an airplane in an unrecoverable spin

Synonyms

• hopeless
• incorrigible
• incurable
• irrecoverable
• irredeemable
• irreformable
• irremediable
• irretrievable
• unredeemable

Examples of unrecoverable in a Sentence

believed that there was no such thing as an unrecoverable criminal

the flood caused unrecoverable damage to our home

Recent Examples on the Web

Some of this may have been prompted by the First and Second World Wars, which resulted in such multitudes of dead—men whose bodies were often unrecoverable—that the old rituals were no longer tenable. —Cody Delistraty, The New Yorker, 22 June 2024

The Pivotal team is aware, however, that just one crash might render the company’s trajectory unrecoverable, and potential customers are expected to complete a two-week program at its training center. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

Internal polling can even be used to push opponents to drop out, showing unrecoverable levels of support. —Leah Askarinam, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2024

Faced with unrecoverable job losses in agriculture, small-town leaders courted manufacturers with subsidies, obliging regulations, and a cheap, non-unionized workforce. Manufacturers, accepting this invitation, industrialized the rural landscape. —Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1