irreconcilable meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

irreconcilable

adjalso spelled Irreconcilable

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French irréconciliable, from Late Latin irreconciliābilis, from in- (“not”) + reconciliō (“to reconcile”) + -ābilis (“-able”). By surface analysis, ir- + reconcilable.

1

Unable to be reconciled; opposed; uncompromising.

[T]he fact that the peccant doctor [Sir James Clark, 1st Baronet] continued in the Queen's service made the Hastings family irreconcilable and produced an unpleasant impression of unrepentant error upon the public mind.1921, Lytton Strachey, “Lord Melbourne”, in Queen Victoria, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, section VI, page 82:

2

Incompatible, discrepant, contradictory.

I amused myself by thinking that in his choice of books he showed pleasantly the irreconcilable sides of his fantastic nature.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XXVI, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:

Synonyms: hostile, hateful, antagonistic
Derived terms: irreconcilability, irreconcilable differences, irreconcilableness, irreconcilably
Related terms: irreconciliation

irreconcilable

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Middle French irréconciliable, from Late Latin irreconciliābilis, from in- (“not”) + reconciliō (“to reconcile”) + -ābilis (“-able”). By surface analysis, ir- + reconcilable.

1

Something that cannot be reconciled.

Irreconcilable

noun

1

US, Dated, Slang A Confederate who moved to another country following the American Civil War, rather than live in a reunited United States.

2

US, Dated, Slang A vociferous opponent of the Treaty of Versailles.