Irreparable: meaning, definitions and examples

Used to describe damage or harm that cannot be fixed or restored. Often related to physical damage or significant personal harm.

• The house suffered irreparable damage after the fire.
• Breaking her trust caused irreparable harm to their relationship.

Used to indicate a change or action that cannot be undone or reverted, frequently used in scientific, environmental, or medical contexts.

• Climate change has led to irreversible damage to the coral reefs.
• The surgery might cause irreversible side effects.

Refers to situations or conditions that cannot be corrected or improved, often used for health or social problems.

• The doctor confirmed that the patient's condition is irremediable.
• The pollution caused an irremediable impact on the river's ecosystem.

Describes something that cannot be retrieved or recovered, typically used for data, memories, or opportunities.

• The deleted files are irretrievable due to the corrupted hard drive.
• Missing the deadline resulted in an irretrievable loss of the opportunity.

Applied when something can't be recovered, typically in financial or resource contexts where a loss cannot be compensated.

• The investment resulted in an irrecoverable loss.
• The funds are irrecoverable once they have been transferred.

This is a duplicate; see the explanation above.

Used to describe actions or processes that cannot be undone or changed back to the original state.

• Environmental pollution has reached an irreversible point.
• The decision to close the factory is irreversible.

Used to describe a situation or problem that cannot be corrected or fixed.

• The errors in the report were irremediable and led to the project being scrapped.
• His decision had irremediable consequences for the entire team.

Used when referring to something that cannot be recovered or brought back once lost.

• The irreversible data loss meant all the research work was gone forever.
• Their bonding was broken irretrievably.

Used when dealing with losses, especially financial or data, that cannot be regained.

• The stolen funds were deemed irrecoverable after the cyber attack.
• After the hard drive crash, the files were irrecoverable.