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Glite Dictionary
unrenewable

unrenewable

6.8
Cannot be made new again
  • adjective
  • /ˌʌn.rɪˈnuː.ə.bəl/
translation icon : no renovable
  • This is one of the few astrophysical catastrophes that you can do a darn thing about if you have enough decades of warning, and it seems like one of the worthwhile uses we could put our finite unrenewable resources toward.

Examples

  • The mining company was criticized for exploiting unrenewable mineral deposits.

  • Certainly, a good bit of this will be paid off with energy from coal, NG, etc., but the point stands as these resources are themselves unrenewable.

    Blog text (32)

  • Fossil fuels are an unrenewable source of energy that will eventually run out.

  • As populations grow, the impact on unrenewable water sources becomes more severe.

Synonyms

irretrievable
vsunrenewable
4 8.5

You cannot get it back or fix it after it is lost

is about inability to be made new rather than inability to regain
unsalvageable
vsunrenewable
3 7.5

So damaged that it cannot be saved or fixed

is about not being made new again rather than about saving from damage
nonrenewable
vsunrenewable
  • Specialized
2 5.6

Not able to be replaced or made again after use

is about not being made new again rather than being replaced
unrecoverable
vsunrenewable
2 7.3

Something that cannot be fixed or brought back

is about not being made new again rather than only loss recovery
unrepairable
vsunrenewable
1 4.7

Too damaged to be fixed and used again

is about not being made new again rather than simply unable to be fixed
unretrievable
vsunrenewable
7.9

Impossible to get back

is about not being made new again rather than just not getting back

Antonyms

renewable
108 3.8

Able to be extended for another fixed time

How Renewable

inexhaustible
10 6.5
renewable
108 3.8
unrenewable
6.8

Surface Forms

unrenewable positive

Morphology

unrenewable = renewable (transparent) = un + renew + able

Formed by adding productive negation 'un-' to the adjective 'renewable', yielding a straightforward negative meaning.

Etymology

Unrenewable starts with un- 'not' and comes from renewable, which itself is made of re- 'again' and new 'fresh'. So it means 'not able to be made new again', which is why we call things like oil or a visa 'unrenewable' when they cannot be renewed.