irrecoverable

/ˌɪrɪˈkʌvərəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌɪrɪˈkʌvərəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌir-i-ˈkə-v(ə-)rə-bəl/ (ame, mw)

irrecoverable — adjective

  • irrecoverablepositive
  • more irrecoverablecomparative
  • most irrecoverablesuperlative

1. if something is irrecoverable, it is lost or destroyed in a way that makes it im

1.形容詞C2
釋義

if something is irrecoverable, it is lost or destroyed in a way that makes it impossible to ever get it back or return to how it was before

例句

The museum director said the fire was an irrecoverable loss for the whole world.

collocation: irrecoverable loss

Many families discovered that their life savings were irrecoverable after the bank collapsed.

irrecoverable + noun referring to money or assets

同義詞
  • irreparable

    focuses on damage that cannot be fixed, rather than something simply lost

  • irretrievable

    suggests something that cannot be found or brought back, especially information or opportunities

  • irreversible

    describes a process or change that cannot be undone, not necessarily a loss

  • lost

    more general and informal; does not carry the same sense of finality

反義詞

文法句型

irrecoverable + noun

用法筆記

Used most often before nouns such as 'loss', 'damage', 'debt', or 'cost'. It carries a strong sense of finality — the thing lost cannot be restored by any effort.

常見錯誤

❌The data was unrecoverable after the hard drive failed.
✅The data was irrecoverable after the hard drive failed.
💡'unrecoverable' is nonstandard; the correct prefix is 'ir-' before 'r'.