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
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
-
Near the end of the movie, there’s a heavy sense of dread—everyone feels hopeless, and exhausted.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
-
Here is the regular guy who loves shooting hoops, who is hopeless with a hammer, who loves a self-deprecating story about walking into a glass wall or almost falling off a ladder, and whose wife, Lori, is always, always right.—
Gal Beckerman,
The Atlantic,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Fire in all its forms, literal and figurative and symbolic—the consuming ardor of desire, the irreversible incinerations of loss, the flaming swords of Genesis—is the central subject of Kelly Hoffer’s second collection Fire Series.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026
-
One party makes large, irreversible investments in a relationship, and the other party can then extract additional concessions because walking away is too costly.—
Spencer Harrison,
New York Times,
1 Feb. 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
-
Difficulty working through conflict with those close to us can cause irreparable harm to families and relationships.—
Richard Balkin,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
-
The reputational loss that the United States has suffered is consequential, and possibly irreparable in the next decade or so.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Time is scarce and unrecoverable, unlike money.—
Brian Page,
CNBC,
26 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
In the psychological horror story, ambitious young psychiatrist Parker attempts to make a name for himself by treating Josephine Todd (Berry), the famously incurable patient at his hospital.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Among them included a young girl who was diagnosed with a deadly and incurable glioblastoma at only 9 years old.—
Isabella Backman,
Hartford Courant,
27 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrecoverable. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
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