What does irremediable mean?
Irremediable is a formal adjective describing a problem, harm, loss, or consequence that cannot be remedied, corrected, or put right. It is often used for damage that has become permanent, although it can also refer to more abstract consequences such as reputational harm, policy failures, or irreversible social effects. The word is more emphatic than saying that something is difficult or costly to repair: it indicates that no effective correction is possible. Typical expressions include irremediable damage, irremediable harm, and irremediable consequences. In legal, environmental, and political writing, the term helps stress the seriousness or finality of a situation. Its relatively uncommon register makes it useful in formal contexts where the precise severity of the problem needs to be emphasized.
adjectiveUnable to be remedied, corrected, or put right; impossible to fix. It is used especially for serious harm, damage, loss, or consequences that cannot be repaired.
- Unable to be remedied, corrected, or put right.
"The accident caused irremediable damage to the historic building."
"The flood left irremediable damage in several of the oldest buildings."
"The mistake proved irremediable, and no satisfactory explanation could repair the damage to the company’s reputation."
Some problems can be repaired, and others can be corrected; irremediable names the ones that can be neither.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does irremediable come from?
Irremediable comes from Latin remediabilis, meaning “remediable” or “capable of being cured,” combined with the prefix irre-, meaning “not.” The underlying Latin root remediare, from remedium, referred to healing or a remedy. English borrowed the related forms remedy and remediable before developing irremediable for situations that could not be corrected. The word is therefore related in origin to remedial, remediation, and remediless.
Related word forms
How irremediable is actually used
The word is formal and serious in tone. It is especially common in legal, political, and environmental contexts, and is stronger and more absolute than simply saying that something cannot be fixed.
Easily confused with irremediable
Irreparable refers primarily to damage that cannot be repaired, whereas irremediable refers more broadly to a situation or consequence that cannot be remedied or put right.