irreversible

If the system works, China’s control may prove irreversible even if democracy returns to Myanmar.

Traditional clocks, from pendulums to atomic oscillators, depend on irreversible processes to track time.

How they handle the coming weeks and months will set a course for the sport that is likely irreversible.

“It’s going to be hard to stop this process. The generals are itching for a fight. They want to go. The situation might get out of control, with irreversible consequences.”

Antarctica faces the possibility of sudden and potentially irreversible changes to its ice, oceans, and ecosystems.