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
Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.
—
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 19 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.
—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
Half of it goes to the nearby Hardy River, in an attempt to revive ecosystems that were thought to be irrecoverable.
—Geraldine Castro, Wired News, 23 Apr. 2025
During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost over 38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Joan Meiners, AZCentral.com, 19 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.
—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
Half of it goes to the nearby Hardy River, in an attempt to revive ecosystems that were thought to be irrecoverable.
—Geraldine Castro, Wired News, 23 Apr. 2025
During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost over 38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses.
—Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrecoverable
Adjective
-
All that’s left is some hopeless cringe, stunt guest stars and unfunny jokes.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
-
All that's left is some hopeless cringe, stunt guest stars and unfunny jokes.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The condition, present from birth, can cause pain and irreversible damage if untreated.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The groups argue that the project does not meet state water quality standards, and the impact will be irreversible.—
Laura Schulte,
jsonline.com,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Alcaraz broke the Italian twice, winning the set with an incredible backhand flick from what looked like an irretrievable position and cupping his ear.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
13 July 2025
-
Choi seems to be exploring, if subtly, the limitless number of paths a person can take, the manifold consequences of choices that seem inconsequential, the ways interpersonal disputes can widen into irretrievable losses, the awkward intersections of agency and fate: If only this, if not for that.—
Book Marks
June 5,
Literary Hub,
5 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Chamber of Commerce argues that tariffs are inflicting irreparable harm and that their uncertainty is causing companies to delay capital investments and consumers to delay purchases.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
3 Nov. 2025
-
But many who protested over the summer worry that irreparable damage has already occurred, and is being accelerated by the government shutdown.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Multi-year studies were interrupted and often unrecoverable, loss of support personnel to manage animal facilities and lack of resources to purchase mice, inability to purchase routine critical supplies and equipment.—
D. Scott Schmid,
Denver Post,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Instead, in the U.S., projects are litigated and delayed, often to make the project economics untenable and the investment unrecoverable.—
Anna Broughel,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
In honor of Bruce Willis, who’s been battling frontotemporal dementia for two years, last night’s Soho Sessions aimed to raise awareness of (and funds for) the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD), the organization leading research into the incurable condition.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
6 Nov. 2025
-
In December 2024, Turner revealed he'd been diagnosed with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, an incurable bone marrow cancer.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrecoverable. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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