irreparable

See also: irréparable

English

Etymology

From Middle French irréparable, from Old French, from Latin irreparabilis, equivalent to ir- +‎ reparable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪˈɹɛp(ə)ɹəbəl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (nonstandard) IPA^(key): /ɪɹəˈpæɹəbəl/, /ɪɹəˈpɛ(ə)ɹəbəl/

Adjective

irreparable (comparative more irreparable, superlative most irreparable)

1. Incapable of being repaired, amended, cured or rectified; unrepairable.
   • 1787, “The History of Europe”, in The Annual Register, or A View of the History, Politics, and Literature, for the Years 1784 and 1785, volume XXVII, London: Printed by J[ames] Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, →OCLC, chapter VIII, page 134, column 1:

     It was impoſſible that the queen of France [Marie Antoinette] ſhould not be deeply affected by a conteſt, which ſo cloſely involved her neareſt and deareſt connections, and threatened ſo immediate and perhaps irreparable a breach of the harmony and friendſhip ſubſiſting between them.

   • 2025 August 1, Jamie Guirola, “'Alligator Alcatraz' detainees on hunger strike for 10th day, protesting conditions”, in NBC News‎^[2], archived from the original on 8 August 2025:

     “Florida has struck an unholy bargain with the Trump administration,” one speaker said. “People are not getting food, hygiene, or medical care. These conditions are substandard and cause irreparable harm.”

Derived terms

• irreparableness
• irreparably
• nonirreparable

Translations

that is unable to be repaired

• Belarusian: непапра́ўны (njepapráwny)
• Bulgarian: непоправим (bg) (nepopravim)
• Catalan: irreparable
• Dutch: onherstelbaar (nl)
• Finnish: korjauskelvoton, peruuttamaton (fi)
• French: irréparable (fr)
• German: irreparabel (de), nicht reparierbar
• Greek: ανεπανόρθωτος (el) (anepanórthotos)
• Latin: irredivīvus
• Macedonian: непоправлив (nepopravliv)
• Polish: nie do naprawienia, nienaprawialny (pl)
• Portuguese: irreparável (pt)
• Russian: неисправи́мый (ru) (neispravímyj), невосстанови́мый (ru) (nevosstanovímyj), непоправи́мый (ru) (nepopravímyj)
• Spanish: irreparable (es)
• Swedish: irreparabel (sv), olaglig (sv)
• Turkish:

  Ottoman Turkish: چاره‌سز (çaresiz), درمانسز (dermansız), علاجسز (ʼilacsız)

• Ukrainian: непопра́вний (nepoprávnyj)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [i.rə.pəˈɾab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [i.re.paˈɾa.ble]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [i.re.paˈɾab.ble]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

Adjective

irreparable m or f (masculine and feminine plural irreparables)

1. irreparable

   Antonym: reparable

Derived terms

• irreparablement

Spanish

Alternative forms

• inreparable (nonstandard)

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /irepaˈɾable/ [i.re.paˈɾa.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: i‧rre‧pa‧ra‧ble

Adjective

irreparable m or f (masculine and feminine plural irreparables)

1. irreparable

   Antonym: reparable

Derived terms

• irreparablemente

Further reading

• “irreparable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025