irreversible Hear it!

irreversible Definition

ir·re·vers·ible (ir′i vʉrsə bəl)

adjective

not reversible; specif.,
  1. that cannot be repealed or annulled
  2. that cannot be turned inside out, run backward, etc.

Related Forms:

irreversible Synonyms

irreversible

modif.

irreversible Usage Examples

Preposition: on

  • viewing: A number of things continue to bother one about Irreversible on second viewing.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • make: In the end devolution in Northern Ireland is an essential part of making this peace process irreversible.

Modifies a noun

  • dismantlement: First, we cannot accept anything less than the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of the North's nuclear programs.
  • blindness: They may also be the first to assess objectively irreversible blindness.
  • elimination: In that context, he would endorse an agenda that gave guidelines for the irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons.
  • damage: Planners said the plan risks irreversible damage to a fragile natural area within the Wester Ross National Scenic Area.
  • coma: Alternatively, should a relative be given the choice on behalf of their loved one if they fall into an irreversible coma?
  • inhibition: Penicillin, for example, causes the death of bacteria due to irreversible inhibition of an enzyme needed to form the bacterial cell wall.

Modifying Another Word

  • seemingly: With the trend seemingly irreversible, newspapers knew they had to develop and diversify, or else risk fizzling out altogether.
  • essentially: These risks are intensified by the fact they are essentially irreversible.
  • potentially: Time is running out on a problem, which, if real, is hugely serious in its impacts and potentially irreversible.
  • effectively: She pointed out the GATS, however, is effectively irreversible.
  • possibly: The way we currently produce our energy is leading to enormous and possibly irreversible environmental damage.
  • largely: The trend toward older populations is largely irreversible, with young populations becoming static or falling.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: The Arctic, they warn, could already have reached tipping point - the moment beyond which the warming becomes irreversible.
  • seem: In any event, the trend toward equal rights for both genders seems irreversible.
  • make: In the last decade great improvements have been achieved and these changes must now be made irreversible.
  • consider: Once cirrhosis has developed it is usually considered irreversible, even if the inflammation which caused it improves.
  • prove: Our fear is that the impacts of any further concentration of research funds may prove irreversible.
  • cause: E's can contain toxic other chemicals like MPTP, a drug known to cause irreversible Parkinson's disease.