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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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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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Many families, including some of Peter’s relatives, found ways to channel their grief to salvage something from their irretrievable loss.
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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
Posner toys with plot points and character names, but the basic storyline is the same and the essential Chekhovian angst over squandered potential and irretrievable loss is preserved.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for irretrievable 
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
Posner toys with plot points and character names, but the basic storyline is the same and the essential Chekhovian angst over squandered potential and irretrievable loss is preserved.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
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Anyone trying to stand in the technology’s way is as hopeless as the manual weavers who resisted the mechanical looms in the early 19th century.Nir Eisikovits, Discover Magazine, 14 Nov. 2024
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Gen Zers have been described as hopeless, creative, weird, intelligent, and more.John Rau, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Unless a preliminary injunction is granted, Plaintiffs will suffer the indisputable irreparable harm of being unable to compete without risking forfeiting their antitrust claims.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
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Long-term exposure to chlorine can cause prolonged health issues such as potentially irreparable lung damage.Jess Craig, Vox, 30 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Two days later, he was faced with worse news: A second scan found the cancer originated in his prostate and had metastasized to his bones, leaving tumors in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and rib — incurable stage 4 cancer.Rebecca Cohen, NBC News, 20 Oct. 2024
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The actor appeared in Morbius as Dr. Emil Nicholas, a mentor and father figure to Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), who runs a facility for people with incurable illnesses.Glenn Garner, Deadline, 26 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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When ingested by children, the heavy metal can cause irreversible brain damage and behavioral issues.Tony Briscoe, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2024
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This condition may be acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) and indicates a decline in kidney function that does not necessarily lead to irreversible damage or kidney failure.Robert Burakoff, Verywell Health, 17 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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In Germany, bad debt relief requires that the debt is considered irrecoverable, assessed based on the individual facts of each case.Aleksandra Bal, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
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The resulting jet of propellant that vented into space acted as an impromptu rocket that could have pushed the spacecraft into an irrecoverable tumble.Michael Greshko, Scientific American, 19 Jan. 2024
Adjective
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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
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Someone who represents unrecoverable catastrophe, frankly, in my view.ABC News, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2024
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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Trump’s parents shipped their incorrigible second son off to military school 90 minutes outside New York City just after his 13th birthday.James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2024
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Maher’s always incorrigible political comedy takes the leftist approach to everything, using Democrats’ favorite tactic: insult and defamation.Armond White, National Review, 7 June 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near irretrievable
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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