irrevocable
adjUK /ɪˈɹɛvəkəbəl/ · US /iˈɹɛvəkəbəl/
Etymology From Middle French irrévocable, from Latin irrevocabilis; equivalent to ir- + revoke + -able.
1
Unable to be retracted or reversed; final.
- Firm and irrevocable is my doom Which I have pass'd upon her; she is banish'd.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- I have talked thus to you, child, not to insult you for what is past and irrevocable, but to caution and strengthen you for the future.RQ:Fielding Tom Jones, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
2 more examples
- On each face, wonder and fear were painted vividly; each so still and silent, looking at the other over the black gulf of the irrevocable past.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, chapter 61, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
- Once again, Mario Cipollini has announced his definite, absolute, unswerving and irrevocable decision to retire, and this time he means it. Probably.2005 April 28, Samuel Abt, “Cycling: Cipo retires. Definitely. Absolutely. Yes. Probably”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Apr 2014:
- Derived terms
- irrevocability, irrevocable letter of credit, irrevocableness, irrevocably, nonirrevocable