irretrievable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irretrievable
1695–1705; ir- 2 + retrievable ( def. )
Explanation
Irretrievable means something that can’t be retrieved or recovered. If you have irretrievable memory loss, it means you'll never get your memories back. Golden retrievers are dogs who love to play fetch — they retrieve the ball, or bring it back over and over again. But if the ball gets stuck in a tree, they will just stand there, helplessly waiting for it to fall. Try to explain it a Golden Retriever in Latin: they are not ir- going to be able -able to get -retrieve- that ball = it is ir-retriev-able. If you suffer an irretrievable loss — like the death of someone you are close to — that means a loss you may never recover from.
Vocabulary lists containing irretrievable
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
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Stories of Ourselves
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 3
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Irretrievable damage has been done to the country's reputation," said Norris Pritam, an Indian journalist who has covered many Olympics and Asian Games.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2010
Irretrievable damage must have resulted from this edict, but fortunately it was disobeyed in Rome and ignored elsewhere.
From Donatello, by Lord Balcarres by Crawford, David Lindsay, Earl of
Now, the Irrecoverable and Irretrievable Humiliations that have lately befallen the Turkish Power, are but so many Declarations of the second Woe passing away.
From The Wonders of the Invisible World Being an Account of the Tryals of Several Witches Lately Executed in New-England, to which is added A Farther Account of the Tryals of the New-England Witches by Mather, Cotton
Irretrievable, his yielding and his shame; irrecoverable, the conscious rectitude bartered so cheaply.
From A Life's Morning by Gissing, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
