1
as in hopeless
not capable of being cured or reformed
an irretrievable drug addict who had wasted a once-promising life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in irreparable
not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
this is just an irretrievable mess, so let's start all over again
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irretrievable
Days before, Sheriff Nanos had said images were irretrievable.
—
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
This dreamscape of the island, like that of the jungle, illuminates in children’s literature a sense of utopia and longing about childhood as a not-quite-place, situated in an irretrievable past-yet-future, while at the same time rooted in an anti-utopian logic of adulthood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
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
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Richard Ruelas, AZCentral.com, 1 Mar. 2026
This dreamscape of the island, like that of the jungle, illuminates in children’s literature a sense of utopia and longing about childhood as a not-quite-place, situated in an irretrievable past-yet-future, while at the same time rooted in an anti-utopian logic of adulthood.
—Literary Hub, 17 Nov. 2025
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
There is a genuinely irretrievable, ephemeral, low-res version of the movie.
—Rachel Handler, Vulture, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for irretrievable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irretrievable
Adjective
-
There were definitely points on my journey where things seemed dark and sort of hopeless.—
Zulekha Nathoo,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
-
This one’s for the horny, hopeless goth inside all of us.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Judge Tanya Walton Pratt ruled the NCAA did not show how the online sports wagering platform's use of the terms would cause irreparable harm.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Michele Faissola is seeking as much as £500 million ($669 million) in his UK lawsuit over allegations the lender caused irreparable harm to his career, according to people familiar with the matter.—
Arno Schütze,
Bloomberg,
19 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
These will be Dion’s inaugural performances since being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome—a rare, incurable neurological disorder that causes spasms and other physical difficulties—in 2022.—
Nina Corcoran,
Pitchfork,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The body approved Castillo’s request based on assessments that evaluated her condition as serious and incurable, and that the 25-year-old had severe, chronic and debilitating suffering.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
26 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The state would never allow a commercial airline pilot to fly without layers of preventive safeguards, yet its DUI enforcement often escalates only after irreversible harm has taken place.—
Sean M. Cleary,
Sun Sentinel,
31 Mar. 2026
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The lawsuit said the harm to her career was irreversible and the emotional and reputational damage was immense.—
Larry Neumeister,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
An irrecoverable loss of the entirety of our personal data.—
Shannon Bond,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2026
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Broadly speaking, this is probably not irrecoverable damage to the ecosystem.—
Shaun McKinnon,
AZCentral.com,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This leads to what may be a unrecoverable confession from Emma that adds tension to the lead-up to their nuptials.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
3 Feb. 2026
-
If the government stays closed, the blame will fall on those fighting to protect an agency operating at an unrecoverable trust deficit, pushing out transparent propaganda that Republican politicians are struggling to coherently defend.—
Logan McMillen,
Washington Post,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
This is why the tragedy of Gaza seems definitive and irremediable: because a state and an army that pretend to be the expression of that culture, as the heirs of that history, have betrayed the Jewish intellectual contribution to modern civilization.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Mar. 2026
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Many of the country’s top psychiatric groups warn that there is no empirical standard for determining whether a mental-health condition is irremediable.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Daisy’s strategy with Mike has always been to treat him like a misbehaved child, which works insofar as scolding an incorrigible child does.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
Terrible for me, an incorrigible snoop of other people’s phones, but probably a good thing for society at large.—
David Pierce,
The Verge,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irretrievable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irretrievable. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
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