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
-
The Knights could only manage a hopeless heave from well beyond halfcourt at the buzzer.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Jan. 2026
-
Produced by Feingold’s Romantical and distributed by Level33, the film follows Leo Kadner (Feingold), a hopeless romantic New Yorker who reconnects with his childhood crush Eva Shapiro (Sarah Coffey) while preparing for his 31-year-old Bar Mitzvah.—
Justin Kroll,
Deadline,
9 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Merriam-Webster defines it as the description of someone or something in a state of possibly irreversible misfortune and hardship.—
Brenda Looper,
Washington Post,
8 Jan. 2026
-
This not only triggers power struggles and deep psychological shifts, but there could also be irreversible decisions around control, freedom and dynamics within our society.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This dreamscape of the island, like that of the jungle, illuminates in children’s literature a sense of utopia and longing about childhood as a not-quite-place, situated in an irretrievable past-yet-future, while at the same time rooted in an anti-utopian logic of adulthood.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Nov. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
The already-frosty relationship between Devers and the front office deteriorated to an irreparable level in May, when Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The Rose Bowl and City of Pasadena filed a lawsuit, arguing UCLA’s departure would cause irreparable harm and jeopardize $184 million in bond debt.—
Ben Bolch,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Time is scarce and unrecoverable, unlike money.—
Brian Page,
CNBC,
26 Dec. 2025
-
The contamination can lead to catastrophic engine failure, resulting in a vehicle fire or an unexpected and unrecoverable loss of propulsion.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
17 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Torney was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer with recurring tumors that eat away at bone marrow, damaging bones and the immune system.—
Vanessa Etienne,
PEOPLE,
9 Jan. 2026
-
University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have unlocked a potential new treatment to target an incurable form of childhood cancer with the help of a fast-reproducing pest known for swarming kitchen produce.—
Kelly Meyerhofer,
jsonline.com,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrecoverable. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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