unrecoverable

adjective

un·​re·​cov·​er·​able ˌən-ri-ˈkə-və-rə-bəl How to pronounce unrecoverable (audio)
-ˈkəv-rə-
1
: unable to be recovered, recaptured, or regained : hopelessly lost : irrecoverable
unrecoverable loans
2
: unable to be corrected : irremediable
an unrecoverable error/failure
an airplane in an unrecoverable spin

Examples of unrecoverable in a Sentence

believed that there was no such thing as an unrecoverable criminal the flood caused unrecoverable damage to our home
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
This means that once a PCC server is rebooted, no data is retained and, as an additional precaution, the entire system volume is cryptographically unrecoverable. Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2024 Someone who represents unrecoverable catastrophe, frankly, in my view. ABC News, 8 Sep. 2024 Some of this may have been prompted by the First and Second World Wars, which resulted in such multitudes of dead—men whose bodies were often unrecoverable—that the old rituals were no longer tenable. Cody Delistraty, The New Yorker, 22 June 2024 The Pivotal team is aware, however, that just one crash might render the company’s trajectory unrecoverable, and potential customers are expected to complete a two-week program at its training center. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for unrecoverable 

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of unrecoverable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near unrecoverable

Cite this Entry

“Unrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unrecoverable. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on unrecoverable

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!