irredeemable
Americanadjective
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not redeemable; incapable of being bought back or paid off.
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irremediable; irreparable; hopeless.
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beyond redemption; irreclaimable.
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(of paper money) not convertible into gold or silver.
adjective
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(of bonds, debentures, shares, etc) without a date of redemption of capital; incapable of being bought back directly or paid off
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(of paper money) not convertible into specie
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(of a sinner) not able to be saved or reformed
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(of a loss) not able to be recovered; irretrievable
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not able to be improved or rectified; irreparable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irredeemable
First recorded in 1600–10; ir- 2 + redeemable
Explanation
If something is beyond all hope, you can describe it as irredeemable — like your disastrously bad performance at the school talent show. Use the adjective irredeemable when there's no way to fix or save a person or situation. You could describe your aunt whose house is so full of stuffed animals that the door barely opens as an irredeemable hoarder, or your friend's cheap jewelry as irredeemable junk. It comes from the word redeem, which is related to redemption, whose root word is the Latin redimere, "buy back."
Vocabulary lists containing irredeemable
Vocabulary from the Vice-Presidential Debate, October 4, 2016
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Stamped
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The Wind in the Willows
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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.
In both Irredeemable and the DC series JLA: Tower of Babel, Waid considers the possibility that smart, paranoid people living in a world with a Superman-caliber hero might not wait around for them to snap.
From The Verge • Aug. 15, 2019
Irredeemable is more like it, and seriously Sansa, you do not know the half of it.
From New York Times • May 11, 2015
It complements Waid's print series, "Irredeemable" and "Incorruptible," about a hero who becomes evil and a villain who wants to change.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 1, 2012
On the hardcover list, at No. 7, is The Definitive Irredeemable, a deluxe reprint of the first three volumes of the series.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2011
Irredeemable, ir-re-dēm′a-bl, adj. not redeemable: not subject to be paid at the nominal value.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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.
