irreversible
adj.impossible to change back to how it was before. You use this to describe a choice or a physical change that is permanent.
adj.impossible to reverse, undo, or return to a previous condition. Often used in medical, environmental, or legal contexts to describe permanent consequences.
“The damage to the old painting is irreversible.”
“Scientists warn that the melting of the polar ice caps could reach an irreversible tipping point within decades.”
“While some policy shifts are merely temporary adjustments, the constitutional amendment represents an irreversible change to the nation's legal framework that cannot be undone by a simple majority vote.”
Often follows a linking verb like 'be', 'become', or 'seem'.
“NRW classified the most serious damage as a Category 2 impact, defined as "significant harm to an SSSI habitat, with deep ruts causing long-term, irreversible hydrological damage that limits natural recovery".”
“An irreversible collapse of the AMOC might not occur.”
From ir- + reversible.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.