1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
unfortunately, he was destined to live out his days as an irrecoverable alcoholic
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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
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Obsession also stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter in a story about a hopeless romantic who makes a wish that his long-time crush falls in love with him.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
23 Apr. 2026
-
With an emotional reaction that was joyful, not hopeless.—
Peter Larsen,
Daily News,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This control sequence, called a Hamiltonian, acts like Maxwell’s demon, flip-flopping a supposedly irreversible sequence of events forward to backward.—
Stephanie Pappas,
Scientific American,
21 Apr. 2026
-
Harder drugs don’t always offer the same flexibility, precisely because their consequences are so immediate and too often irreversible.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
20 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
-
Biggs sustained serious injuries to his face and head in the fall, including multiple jaw fractures, a cut on his chin that required surgery and irreparable damage to several teeth, according to the lawsuit.—
Laura Fay,
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
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The decision was a loss for environmental groups that had argued that the facility is causing irreparable harm to the surrounding Everglades wetland habitats.—
Claire Heddles,
Miami Herald,
22 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
It was pronounced unrecoverable.—
Julian Lucas,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
This leads to what may be a unrecoverable confession from Emma that adds tension to the lead-up to their nuptials.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 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,
7 Apr. 2026
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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 28 Apr. 2026.
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