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irreclaimable

[ir-i-kley-muh-buh l]
See more synonyms for irreclaimable on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. incapable of being reclaimed or rehabilitated: an irreclaimable swamp; irreclaimable offenders.
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Origin of irreclaimable

First recorded in 1600–10; ir-2 + reclaimable
Related formsir·re·claim·a·bil·i·ty, ir·re·claim·a·ble·ness, nounir·re·claim·a·bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for irreclaimable

Historical Examples

  • She does not teach that human nature is irreclaimable, else wherefore should she be sent?

    Apologia Pro Vita Sua

    John Henry Cardinal Newman

  • They fall into the ranks of those whom the world abandons as irreclaimable.

  • But the lesson sits lightly on him, and he remains in heart as irreclaimable as ever.

    Gipsy Life

    George Smith

  • And then how pitiful to think that he—with all his gifts—should be irreclaimable, after all.

    Hedda Gabler

    Henrik Ibsen

  • In a general view, it might be termed an irreclaimable desert.

British Dictionary definitions for irreclaimable

irreclaimable

adjective
  1. not able to be reclaimed
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Derived Formsirreclaimability or irreclaimableness, nounirreclaimably, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012