irreversible
adjUK /ˌɪr.ɪˈvɜː.sə.bəl/ · US /ˌɪr.ɪˈvɝ.sə.bəl/
Etymology From ir- + reversible.
1
Incapable of being reversed or turned about or back; incapable of being made to run backwards.
- an irreversible engine
2
Incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled.
- an irreversible sentence or decree
- 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:
1 more example
- “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:
3
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics, Thermodynamics Incapable of being reversed to the original state without consumption of free energy and increase of entropy.
- Derived terms
- irreversibleness, irreversibly, thermoirreversible
- Related terms
- irreversibility