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irretrievable

[ ir-i-tree-vuh-buh l ]

/ ˌɪr ɪˈtri və bəl /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR irretrievable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

not capable of being retrieved; irrecoverable; irreparable.

Origin of irretrievable

1695–1705; ir-² + retrievable

OTHER WORDS FROM irretrievable

ir·re·triev·a·bil·i·ty, ir·re·triev·a·ble·ness, noun ir·re·triev·a·bly, adverb

Words nearby irretrievable

irresponsible, irresponsive, irresuscitable, irretentive, irretraceable, irretrievable, irreverence, irreverent, irreversible, irreversible pulpitis, irrevocable

Example sentences from the Web for irretrievable

His death during the storm was recognized as an irretrievable loss of part of what made the neighborhood the neighborhood.

Rockaway Mailman Rick Gold Killed in Storm and Mourned on His Route |Michael Daly |November 9, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
But she and her family have learned enough about irretrievable loss to keep a hard-earned perspective.

Heroism in the Rockaways After Hurricane Sandy |Michael Daly |November 6, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The leaders fallen, no further object for contention remained to the rebels, and the defeat was complete and irretrievable.

Yorkshire Battles |Edward Lamplough
But, sir, it is not to lament the irretrievable that I intrude myself upon your leisure.

The Plays of W. E. Henley and R. L. Stevenson |Robert Louis Stevenson

Yet the administration gave her a warning; they did not allow the irretrievable hours to be stolen from her with a noiseless hand.

The Woman-Hater |Charles Reade
He had destroyed his ambitions, he had transformed all his life, by a single unreflecting and irretrievable impulse.

The Roll-Call |Arnold Bennett
It costs us the most precious, the only irretrievable thing in the universe—time.

The House of the Vampire |George Sylvester Viereck

British Dictionary definitions for irretrievable

irretrievable

/ (ˌɪrɪˈtriːvəbəl) /

adjective

not able to be retrieved, recovered, or repaired

Derived forms of irretrievable

irretrievability or irretrievableness, noun irretrievably, adverb