irrevocable

adjective

ir·​rev·​o·​ca·​ble i-ˈre-və-kə-bəl 

ˌi(r)-,

sometimes

ˌir-(r)ə-ˈvō-kə- 

: not possible to revoke : unalterable

an irrevocable decision

irrevocability

i-ˌre-və-kə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

ˌir-(r)ə-ˌvō-kə-

noun

irrevocableness

i-ˈre-və-kə-bəl-nəs 

ˌir-(r)ə-ˈvō-kə-

noun

irrevocably

i-ˈre-və-kə-blē 

ˌi(r)-

 sometimes  ˌir-(r)ə-ˈvō-kə-

adverb

Did you know?

Irrevocable and Trusts

Irrevocable has a formal sound to it and is often used in legal contexts. Irrevocable trusts are trust funds that cannot be dissolved by the people who created them (the other kind is a revocable trust). An irrevocable credit is an absolute obligation from a bank to provide credit to a customer. Irrevocable gifts, under U.S. tax law, are gifts that are given by one living person to another and can't be reclaimed by the giver. But the word isn't always legal; we've all had to make irrevocable decisions, decisions that commit us absolutely to something.

Examples of irrevocable in a Sentence

She has made an irrevocable decision.

Recent Examples on the Web

The sound of impact was remarkable: a plasticky, irrevocable, cold-blooded, bad-news crump. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 13 June 2024

Jurors had two questions Tuesday related to Valade's 2009 irrevocable trust and the business/entities that are a part of that trust, of which there are five. —Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 7 June 2024

But the primary reason the conflict endures is neither Israeli oppression of the Palestinians nor Palestinian terrorism, but rather the irrevocable commitment of both peoples to undivided land. —Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

Before irrevocable commitments are made to a controversial would-be data center developer, policy makers, power generators and ratepayers should understand if the price of a data center for the rest of us is higher rates, cold homes in the winter and hot ones in the summer. —Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 6 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin irrevocabilis, from in- + revocabilis revocable

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

irrevocable

adjective

ir·​rev·​o·​ca·​ble (ˈ)ir-ˈ(r)ev-ə-kə-bəl 

: not capable of being revoked

an irrevocable decision

irrevocability

(ˌ)ir-ˌ(r)ev-ə-kə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

irrevocably

(ˈ)ir-ˈ(r)ev-ə-kə-blē 

adverb

Legal Definition

irrevocable

adjective

ir·​rev·​o·​ca·​ble ir-ˈre-və-kə-bəl 

: not capable of being revoked

the offer was irrevocable for ten days

irrevocability noun

irrevocably adverb