Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of irrecoverable Crestfallen fans have begun demanding refunds for hundreds of dollars in ticket purchases to defray irrecoverable travel and lodging costs. Jia H. Jung, Mercury News, 11 July 2025 Customs Duty, which is irrecoverable. Import VAT, which can be reclaimed, provided correct steps are taken. Robert Marchant, Forbes.com, 14 May 2025 The contents of the time capsule may become irrecoverable. Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025 Half of it goes to the nearby Hardy River, in an attempt to revive ecosystems that were thought to be irrecoverable. Geraldine Castro, Wired News, 23 Apr. 2025 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 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 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrecoverable
Adjective
  • In a time when the suffering and seemingly hopeless prospects of America’s poor are known to all who have eyes to see, the only fig leaf available to hide the obscenity of this bill is the old partisan charge of waste, fraud and abuse.
    Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • Valentine, Texas, stamps 10,000+ love letters each year For more than three decades, the small-town Valentine Post Office — also known as the Love Station — has processed thousands of love letters from hopeless romantics around the world.
    Brandi D. Addison, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • The usual one that pops into people’s heads is that fire seems to be an irreversible invention.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 2 July 2025
  • Socotra needs to implement similar protections before damage becomes irreversible, Van Damme said.
    Shane Farrell, NBC news, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • Alcaraz broke the Italian twice, winning the set with an incredible backhand flick from what looked like an irretrievable position and cupping his ear.
    Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 13 July 2025
  • Choi seems to be exploring, if subtly, the limitless number of paths a person can take, the manifold consequences of choices that seem inconsequential, the ways interpersonal disputes can widen into irretrievable losses, the awkward intersections of agency and fate: If only this, if not for that.
    Book Marks June 5, Literary Hub, 5 June 2025
Adjective
  • Her illness has left her with irreparable dental damage—forcing her to spend thousands of dollars to restore her smile, a painful and permanent reminder of her eating disorder.
    Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 July 2025
  • The lawsuit alleges that the negligence of the waste management company led to Taylor’s death and caused irreparable harm to his family, according to the press release.
    Caelyn Pender, Mercury News, 10 July 2025
Adjective
  • First, the private key can be lost and unrecoverable.
    Alexander S. Blume, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
  • That drop felt like a gut punch to many, especially with ongoing news coverage framing current events as ominous, permanent or unrecoverable.
    Steve Booren, Denver Post, 15 June 2025
Adjective
  • Finally, after more than a month of agony, her allergist diagnosed her with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) — an incurable condition marked by hives that last six weeks or longer, with no definitive cause or trigger.
    Diane Herbst, People.com, 11 July 2025
  • Due to the contagious nature of the incurable disease, when it's detected, standard practice is to humanely kill all affected and exposed poultry.
    Elizabeth B. Kim, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Irrecoverable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrecoverable. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on irrecoverable

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!