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uncollectible

uncollectible

1 7.3
Money that cannot be collected from the person who owes it
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌn.kəˈlɛk.tə.bəl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : incobrable
  • The argument about tax consequences, as well as the possibility of OWS getting hit with all the uncollectible debt, is pretty convincing.
  • uncollectible loans

Examples

  • The accountant reported that a significant portion of the loans were deemed uncollectible due to the borrowers' financial struggles.

  • The government's foreign assets fell from a high of $145 billion in 1982 to $63 billion at the end of 1988, of which at least half was in uncollectible loans to Iraq and others.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Russian taxes are complex, high, full of exceptions, and uncollectible.

    Academic text (2000)
  • They may or may not be forthcoming about whether the debt is uncollectible.

    Blog text (19)
  • In 1999, the hospital spent over $6 million on free care, uncollected accounts, and uncollectible Medicaid reimbursements.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Banks are losing 17 billion colones (about $382 million) annually in uncollectible loans to the cattle industry.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Banks wrote off an extraordinary amount of charged-off debt that they deemed uncollectible in recent years, losing money as a result, and have also had to contend with a slowing economy and tougher federal regulations, he says.

    Blog text (19)
  • Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry has been warning for several months about the practice of bank-reserve releases, which occur when banks add less to their loan-loss reserves than they write off for uncollectible loans.

    Blog text (12)
  • Our company projected an increase in uncollectible debts as many clients are unable to pay their invoices.

  • After the analysis, it became clear that the old accounts were mostly uncollectible and needed to be written off.

Synonyms

bad
vsuncollectible
  • Specialized
149 7.5

Not likely to be paid back as a debt

is specific to debts impossible to collect rather than general riskiness
unrecoverable
vsuncollectible
2 7.3

Something that cannot be fixed or brought back

applies specifically to unpaid sums rather than any lost thing
unpayable
vsuncollectible
2 5.5

Too large for a person or company to afford

refers to money unable to be collected due to unaffordability rather than lost recovery
irrecoverable
vsuncollectible
1 8.8

Impossible to get back or fix

focuses on money that cannot be collected rather than general loss
uncollectable
vsuncollectible
  • UK
1 5.3

Impossible to get back money that someone owes

is the alternate spelling used for the same idea
unrepayable
vsuncollectible
1 6.8

A debt or favor you cannot pay back

emphasizes inability to collect rather than inability to pay back
unretrievable
vsuncollectible
7.9

Impossible to get back

is used for debts that cannot be collected, not general items
unreclaimable
vsuncollectible
8.1

No one can return land, objects, or memories to a usable state

covers debts that cannot be collected rather than physical restoration
irreclaimable
vsuncollectible
9.9

Not able to be changed for the better

is about unpaid money not about moral or physical change

How Collectible

recoverable
9 4.2
collectible
  • Formal
15 6.3
delinquent
16 6.8
bad
  • Specialized
149 7.5
doubtful
38 3.0
uncollectible
  • Specialized
1 7.3

Surface Forms

uncollectible positive

Morphology

uncollectible = collectible (transparent) = un + collect + ible

The adjective is formed by prefixing 'un-' to 'collectible', which straightforwardly means 'not able to be collected'.

Etymology

Uncollectible breaks into un- 'not' and collect 'gather', the same root you see in collection or collector. So an uncollectible debt is like something you cannot 'gather' or get back.