1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
an irretrievable drug addict who had wasted a once-promising life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreparable
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
this is just an irretrievable mess, so let's start all over again
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Given enough machinery and labor, roads were not irretrievable after all.
—
Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Many families, including some of Peter’s relatives, found ways to channel their grief to salvage something from their irretrievable loss.
—Amy Qin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
Adam’s childhood home (remarkably, the same house in which Haigh himself grew up) is a maze of personal mysteries: old clothes, faded photographs and other relics of a palpable yet irretrievable past.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
But Israelis intuitively understand that if this round of fighting ends with one more stalemate, then our military deterrence—shattered by the mass but intimate butchery of Oct. 7—could be irretrievable.
—Yossi Klein Halevi, WSJ, 3 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for irretrievable 
Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Many families, including some of Peter’s relatives, found ways to channel their grief to salvage something from their irretrievable loss.
—Amy Qin, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2024
Adam’s childhood home (remarkably, the same house in which Haigh himself grew up) is a maze of personal mysteries: old clothes, faded photographs and other relics of a palpable yet irretrievable past.
—Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 20 Dec. 2023
But Israelis intuitively understand that if this round of fighting ends with one more stalemate, then our military deterrence—shattered by the mass but intimate butchery of Oct. 7—could be irretrievable.
—Yossi Klein Halevi, WSJ, 3 Nov. 2023
See all Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
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But as dire as all of this is, the situation is not hopeless.—
Lawrence Norden,
TIME,
12 Feb. 2025
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Cancer: Henry Roth from 50 First Dates As a hopeless romantic with a nurturing heart, Henry Roth embodies the personality traits of a Cancer.—
Athena Sobhan,
People.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Judge John Bates’ temporary restraining order came after Doctors for America sued the government, saying irreparable harm was caused by the loss of dozens of public health websites that the doctors used regularly to treat patients and conduct research.—
Jen Christensen,
CNN,
14 Feb. 2025
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Without open discussions and mutual understanding, misunderstandings can turn into irreparable divides.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
Newsweek,
1 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Now shortlisted for the 2025 Academy Awards, Benjamin Ree’s documentary tells the story of Mats Steen, a young Norwegian who died at 25 from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an inherited and incurable degenerative neuromuscular disorder.—
Scott Roxborough,
The Hollywood Reporter,
11 Jan. 2025
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Called stage 4 breast cancer, this disease is incurable.—
Jennifer Welsh Published,
Verywell Health,
30 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Millions of men were subjected to an unwanted and irreversible medical procedure in what is now widely regarded as a serious violation of human rights.—
Dylan Scott,
Vox,
5 Feb. 2025
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Scientists have said that in order to avoid some of the worst and most irreversible impacts of climate change, policymakers should try to limit warming to that benchmark.—
Rachel Frazin,
The Hill,
14 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost over 38,000 soldiers in this single direction alone, with approximately 15,000 of them irrecoverable losses.—
Kevin Lynn,
Newsweek,
7 Jan. 2025
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This kind of situation occurs when irrecoverable past investments drive decisions, even when those costs are irrelevant to future outcomes.—
Shanna Apitz,
Forbes,
19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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An older idea of Russia that has not yet been destroyed is taking revenge on new, innocent generations who are sacrificing their lives in pursuit of unrecoverable greatness.—
Andrei Kolesnikov,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Jan. 2025
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The damaged flight data recorder had been deemed unrecoverable for data extraction by South Korean authorities, who sent it to the United States for analysis at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board laboratory.—
Paolo Confino,
Fortune Asia,
11 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Many thought that a healthy forest would never thrive in impoverished, mercury-laden topsoil and that the piles of sandy tailings, the residue from the gold mining effort, and the pools of wastewater were irremediable.—
Simeon Tegel,
NPR,
2 Apr. 2024
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For example, if a package containing plasma is left outside during extreme weather conditions, like 20 degrees below freezing in Boston or 115-degree heat in Arizona, the contents could suffer irremediable damage that renders them unsafe for use.—
Guy Yehiav,
Forbes,
22 Feb. 2024
Adjective
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Bridget’s old on-again, off-again boss/beau Daniel Cleaver (played by the gloriously incorrigible Hugh Grant) drifts in and out of the story.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
14 Feb. 2025
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Mahler-Werfel was described as an incorrigible antisemite who enslaved Jewish men and drove them to early graves.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
3 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near irretrievable
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.
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