nonrenewable
adjective
non·re·new·able
ˌnän-ri-ˈnü-ə-bəl 
-ˈnyü-
: not able to be renewed : not renewable
a nonrenewable service contract
especially
: unable to be replaced or replenished once used
… most of the natural resources that we exploit for energy and minerals are nonrenewable. Once they have been used up, they cannot be replenished—at least in our lifetime. —
Sheldon Judson and Marvin E. Kauffman
Sheldon Judson and Marvin E. Kauffman A nonrenewable resource is a resource that cannot be replaced after it is used. Minerals and many fuels are nonrenewable resources. —Dr. Timothy Cooney et al.
Dr. Timothy Cooney et al. Physical and economic shortages of nonrenewable resources require research programs aimed at developing renewable replacement resources. —Predicasts Technology Update
Predicasts Technology Update Lubbock is the principal city of the semi-arid southern High Plains of Texas, where the extensive, nonrenewable Ogallala aquifer is the major water resource. —AAG Abstracts
AAG Abstracts Examples of nonrenewable in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The book illustrated the many ways in which increases in the human population and consumption levels undermine the sustainability of human society, including through pollution, the depletion of both renewable and nonrenewable resources, and industrial production.
—Frances Beinecke, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012
Air travel depends on nonrenewable fossil fuels, and its noise afflicts communities near airports or beneath a flight path.
—Amy Jankovsky, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Nov. 2023
More than 90% of paved roads in the U.S. are made of asphalt, which is constructed with nonrenewable materials such as petroleum.
—Baoshan Huang, The Conversation, 8 May 2025
The government has traditionally classified it as a nonrenewable fossil fuel.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nonrenewable
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Frances Beinecke, Foreign Affairs, 1 Sep. 2012
Air travel depends on nonrenewable fossil fuels, and its noise afflicts communities near airports or beneath a flight path.
—Amy Jankovsky, IEEE Spectrum, 30 Nov. 2023
More than 90% of paved roads in the U.S. are made of asphalt, which is constructed with nonrenewable materials such as petroleum.
—Baoshan Huang, The Conversation, 8 May 2025
The government has traditionally classified it as a nonrenewable fossil fuel.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nonrenewable
Cite this Entry
“Nonrenewable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nonrenewable. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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