Thesaurus.com
Dictionary.com
Definitions

irrecoverable

[ir-i-kuhv-er-uh-buhl] / ˌɪr ɪˈkʌv ər ə bəl /
ADJECTIVE
desperate
Synonyms
STRONGEST
despondent forlorn futile sad vain
STRONG
downcast goner
WEAK
at end of one's rope back to the wall can't win dead duck despairing desponding gone hard up in the soup in the toilet inconsolable irremediable irretrievable no chance no-win running out of time sunk up against it up the creek useless wretched
Antonyms
STRONGEST
cheerful happy hopeful joyful
WEAK
calm confident content contented satisfactory satisfied secure unworried
ADJECTIVE
incurable
Synonyms
STRONGEST
deadly fatal hopeless inoperable
STRONG
impossible terminal
WEAK
cureless immedicable irremediable irreparable nowhere to go out of time remediless serious uncorrectable unrecoverable
Antonyms
STRONGEST
healthful wholesome
WEAK
curable healable medicable operable
ADJECTIVE
irreparable
Synonyms
STRONGEST
irreplaceable irreversible
WEAK
beyond repair broken cureless destroyed hopeless impossible incorrigible incurable irredeemable irremediable irremedial irretrievable ruined uncorrectable unrecoverable
Antonyms
WEAK
fixable mendable repairable reparable
ADJECTIVE
lost
Synonyms
STRONGEST
absent adrift disoriented hidden invisible misplaced vanished
STRONG
disappeared forfeit forfeited gone lacking minus mislaid missed obscured strayed wandering
WEAK
astray at sea cast away down the drain fallen between cracks gone astray irretrievable irrevocable kiss goodbye nowhere to be found off-course out the window unredeemed wayward without
Antonyms
STRONGEST
seen
WEAK
found

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They "used to go to places and bring back plants from areas where those forests are no longer there", making those replanted at the Kyiv garden susceptible to "irrecoverable losses".

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

State Historic Park, is irrecoverable due to toxification from the fire.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2025

Prince Andrew's involvement with an alleged Chinese spy came at a time his chief aide and other royals believed his reputation was "irrecoverable".

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2025

"The investigation found that, in the prevailing circumstances, the loss of yaw control was irrecoverable," it said in its final report on the crash.

From Reuters • Sep. 6, 2023

This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.