irreversible

[ ir-i-vur-suh-buh l ]

/ ˌɪr ɪˈvɜr sə bəl /

not reversible; incapable of being changed: His refusal is irreversible.

Origin of irreversible

First recorded in 1620–30; ir-² + reversible

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

That would create an irreversible cycle wherein the climate is beyond our control.

The Pipeline From Hell: There’s No Good Reason to Build Keystone XL |Jack Holmes |November 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Now, a new mouthpiece may help protect players from irreversible harm.

This Mouthpiece Will Save Football Players’ Brains |Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD |June 27, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
If I had my wish, football would suffer a sudden and irreversible drop in popularity.

Why I’ll Never Let My Kids Play Football |Russell Saunders |May 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Echoing Hugo Chavez, they have vowed to make his revolution “irreversible.”

Venezuela Burns, Body Count Rises |Juan Nagel |March 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

For the populations of tiny island nations like Kiribati, the threat is real and near – and any impacts would be irreversible.

Best Business Longreads |William O’Connor |November 24, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
In the course of the last hundred years, Goldoni has secured a signal and irreversible victory over his rival.

The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first |Count Carlo Gozzi
The dictating angels hover over the heads of the gifted maids, one of whom writes with rapid pen the irreversible decrees of Fate.

Walks in Rome |Augustus J.C. Hare
The closing of the National Laboratories means an irreversible change in our position.

The Unlearned |Raymond F. Jones
It is not a thing of compacts, bound together by promises and paper, but is itself a law of nature as irreversible as any other.

Cotton is King and The Pro-Slavery Arguments |Various
The victory of pure doctrine and strict church order, though perhaps not exactly glorious, was triumphant and irreversible.

A History of American Christianity |Leonard Woolsey Bacon

irreversible

/ (ˌɪrɪˈvɜːsəbəl) /

not able to be reversed the irreversible flow of time

not able to be revoked or repealed; irrevocable

chem physics capable of changing or producing a change in one direction only an irreversible reaction

thermodynamics (of a change, process, etc) occurring through a number of intermediate states that are not all in thermodynamic equilibrium

irreversibility or irreversibleness, noun irreversibly, adverb