irrecoverable
Americanadjective
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incapable of being recovered or regained.
an irrecoverable debt.
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unable to be remedied or rectified; irretrievable.
an irrecoverable loss.
adjective
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not able to be recovered or regained
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not able to be remedied or rectified
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irrecoverable
First recorded in 1530–40; ir- 2 + recoverable
Vocabulary lists containing irrecoverable
"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" Vocabulary from the speech
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: in-, im-, il-, ir-
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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.
There is always something theatrical about politics, especially in countries like Hungary, where memories of a glorious but irrecoverable past dominate the public imagination.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
They "used to go to places and bring back plants from areas where those forests are no longer there", making those replanted at the Kyiv garden susceptible to "irrecoverable losses".
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
State Historic Park, is irrecoverable due to toxification from the fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2025
“The lack of a tight seal from this defect resulted in the multiple subsequent air embolism events and irrecoverable neurological damage,” they wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
