irreversible
[ir-i-vur-suh-buh l]
- not reversible; incapable of being changed: His refusal is irreversible.
Show More
Origin of irreversible
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for irreversibly
Contemporary Examples
Some critics worry that reform would be like an on/off switch—suddenly and irreversibly changing America forever.
Historical Examples
As a race, the Southern Caucasian would be irreversibly doomed.
The Color LineWilliam Benjamin Smith
For why should men do either, when all they can desire is irreversibly predestined?
St. Paul's heart is pledged irrevocably and irreversibly to the Church.
The real man is discovered, his worth is impartially weighed, his rank is irreversibly decreed.
Hidden TreasuresHarry A. Lewis
To say nothing of the question of how much of Terra's best blood do you want to drain off, irreversibly and permanently?
Masters of SpaceEdward Elmer Smith
irreversible
- not able to be reversedthe irreversible flow of time
- not able to be revoked or repealed; irrevocable
- chem physics capable of changing or producing a change in one direction onlyan irreversible reaction
- thermodynamics (of a change, process, etc) occurring through a number of intermediate states that are not all in thermodynamic equilibrium
Show More
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
Word Origin and History for irreversibly
irreversible
adj.
1620s, from assimilated form of in- (1) "not, opposite of" + reversible. Related: Irreversibly.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper