different between irreversible vs unavoidable

English

Etymology

From ir- +? reversible.

Adjective

irreversible (not comparable)

1. Incapable of being reversed or turned about or back; incapable of being made to run backward.

2. Incapable of being reversed, recalled, repealed, or annulled.
3. (thermodynamics) Incapable of being reversed to the original state without consumption of free energy and increase of entropy.

Related terms

• irreversibility

Translations

Catalan

Etymology

From ir- +? reversible.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /i.r?.v???si.bl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /i.r?.b?r?si.bl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /i.re.ve??si.ble/

Adjective

irreversible (masculine and feminine plural irreversibles)

1. irreversible

Further reading

• “irreversible” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

irreversible

1. definite singular/plural of irreversibel

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

irreversible

1. definite singular/plural of irreversibel

Spanish

Etymology

From ir- +? reversible.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /irebe??sible/, [i.re.??e??si.??le]

Adjective

irreversible (plural irreversibles)

1. irreversible (not able to be reversed)

   Antonym: reversible

Further reading

• “irreversible” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

From Middle English unavoidable, equivalent to un- +? avoidable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??n??v??d?b?l/

Adjective

unavoidable (comparative more unavoidable, superlative most unavoidable)

1. Impossible to avoid; bound to happen.

2. (law) Not voidable; incapable of being made null or void.

Usage notes

• See usage notes at inevitable.

Synonyms

• (impossible to avoid): inescapable, inevitable

Antonyms

• (impossible to avoid): avoidable

Translations

Noun

unavoidable (plural unavoidables)

1. Something that cannot be avoided.
   • 1825, The London magazine (volume 12, page 490)

     Forty years before, I had thought this odour one of the necessities of life — one of the unavoidables at least […]