irreversible en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˌɪr.ɪˈvɝ.sə.bəl/ (US)
- /ˌɪr.ɪˈvɜː.sə.bəl/ (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Italic *n̥- Latin in- Latin ir- English ir- English reversible English irreversible From ir- + reversible.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Incapable of being reversed or turned about or back; incapable of being made to run backwards.
an irreversible engine
-
(not-comparable) Incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled.
Manganism has been known about since the 19th century, when miners exposed to ores containing manganese[…]began to totter, slur their speech and behave like someone inebriated. The poisoning was irreversible, and soon ended in psychosis and death.
2014 April 21, “Subtle effects”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8884, archived from the original on 25 May 2024:“Even under a variety of policies, including plastic product reduction, waste management, and environmental recycling, microplastic pollution is irreversible and escalating.”
2024 December 17, Lex Harvey, “Microplastics are choking our waters. Could a sponge made of squid bones help remove them?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Feb 2025:an irreversible sentence or decree
- (not-comparable) Incapable of being reversed to the original state without consumption of free energy and increase of entropy.
Deriveds
thermoirreversible · irreversibly · irreversibleness
Relateds
Translations (48)
it irreversibile (incapable of being reversed) · nb irreversibel (incapable of being reversed) · cmn 不可逆 (incapable of being reversed) · ro ireversibil (incapable of being reversed) · ca irreversible (incapable of being reversed) · bg неотменим (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · sv irreversibel (incapable of being reversed) · ja 不可逆 (incapable of being reversed) · cmn 無可挽回的 /无可挽回的 (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · nn irreversibel (incapable of being reversed) · nl onomkeerbaar (incapable of being reversed) · de unumkehrbar (incapable of being reversed) · cmn 不可逆轉的 /不可逆转的 (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · es irreversible (incapable of being reversed) · ko 뒤집을 수 없는 (incapable of being reversed) · gv neuyantagh cur ergooyl (incapable of being reversed) · gv neuyantagh dy chur er ash (incapable of being reversed) · nb irreversibel (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · sv oåterkallelig (incapable of being reversed) · ka გამოუსწორებადი (incapable of being reversed) · hu visszafordíthatatlan (incapable of being reversed) · tl ditumbalikin (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · pl nieodwracalny (incapable of being reversed) · bg необратим (incapable of being reversed) · ru необрати́мый (incapable of being reversed) · cy anghildroadwy (incapable of being reversed) · eo nereversebla (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · eo nereversebla (incapable of being reversed) · uk необоротни́й (incapable of being reversed) · be неабарача́льны (incapable of being reversed) · ka შეუქცევადი (incapable of being reversed) · tl ditumbalikin (incapable of being reversed) · pt irreversível (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · el αμετάτρεπτος (incapable of being reversed) · pl nieodwołalny (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · de irreversibel (incapable of being reversed) · nn irreversibel (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · ka არაუკუქცევადი (incapable of being reversed) · hy անշրջելի (incapable of being reversed) · ko 돌이킬 수 없는 (incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled) · cs nevratný (incapable of being reversed) · fi peruuttamaton (incapable of being reversed) · fr irréversible (incapable of being reversed) · ga dochúlaithe (incapable of being reversed) · el αδιάστρεπτος (incapable of being reversed) · pt irreversível (incapable of being reversed) · et pöördumatu (incapable of being reversed) · uk незворотний (incapable of being reversed)