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irreversibility

irreversibility

1 8.4
Cannot be changed back to how it was
  • noun
  • /ˌɪrəˈvɜrsəˌbɪlɪti/
: irreversibilidad
  • Once she made her decision, the irreversibility of her choice became clear to everyone involved.
  • the irreversibility of time
  • irreversibility of a process
  • irreversibility and uncertainty

Make the thing larger, move it out of the quantum realm, and you have irreversibility creeping back in.

Examples

  • As you know, in recent months I have repeatedly stressed the irreversibility of the euro.

    Blog text (9)
  • After a certain point, humanity could very well arrive at a moment of irreversibility.

    Academic text (1994)
  • A central question about the decision process concerns its irreversibility.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The size and irreversibility of current Soviet arms reductions have been questioned.

    Academic text (1990)
  • The imminence of death is the psychologically unpleasant reminder of the irreversibility of time.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Long-term sea-level rise and possible discontinuities and irreversibilities in the climate system should be considered.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Dixit and Pindyck (1994) use the irreversibility of investments to explain why high discount rates characterize rational decision-making.

    Academic text (2000)
  • The Earth system is rife with feedback, nonlinear synergies, thresholds, and irreversibilities that confound our intuition.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The irreversibility of climate change means that we cannot undo the damage already done to the planet.

  • The scientist explained that the irreversibility of the chemical reaction meant they could not go back to the original compounds.

Synonyms

immutability
vsirreversibility
1 8.5

A state of not changing over time

focuses on not being reversible rather than simply staying constant
irrevocability
vsirreversibility
1 9.9

The state of being impossible to change or take back

focuses on inability to go back to a previous state rather than finality
inexorability
vsirreversibility
  • Formal
1 9.9

Something that cannot be stopped or changed

refers specifically to inability to reverse an action rather than inevitability
irretrievability
vsirreversibility
1 9.9

A situation where you cannot get something back, like deleted files or lost memories

emphasizes failure to return to the original state rather than mere loss
indissolubility
vsirreversibility
  • Formal
1 9.4

A situation people cannot end or break, often for agreements like marriage vows

is broader, focusing on inability to undo a prior state rather than legal permanence
unchangeableness
vsirreversibility
1 8.6

A state of staying the same over time without becoming different

highlights inability to return to an earlier state rather than mere habit
irredeemability
vsirreversibility
1 9.9

The state of being unable to be fixed or made right

concerns inability to undo or return things to their former state
unchangeability
vsirreversibility
1 7.4

The quality of not changing over time

is about actions or events that cannot be turned back to before
irreparability
vsirreversibility
8.7

A thing that cannot be fixed or made like new

is about not being able to reverse a change back to original form
unalterability
vsirreversibility
9.6

A state in which something like a rule cannot change

stresses that the process cannot be turned back to its prior condition
immutableness
vsirreversibility
9.9

A state of not changing over time

centres on an action or process that cannot be reversed to previous form
incorruptibility
vsirreversibility
  • Specialized
8.6

A record or system whose data cannot be changed after it is stored

shares unchangeability but narrows to data integrity rather than general undoing

Antonyms

reversibility
  • Specialized
1 6.6

The ability to return to the original state

How Reversible

reversibility
  • Specialized
1 6.6
permanence
14 5.5
irreversibility
1 8.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

irreversibility = irreversible (transparent) = ir + reverse + ible + ity

Formed by adding the nominalizing suffix '-ity' to the adjective 'irreversible' to denote the state or quality of being irreversible.

Etymology

Irreversibility breaks into ir- meaning 'not', reverse meaning 'to turn back', and -ability meaning 'can'. So irreversibility is the idea that something 'cannot be turned back', which is why we use it for actions or processes that cannot be undone.