Irrevocable has a formal sound to it and is often used in legal contexts. Irrevocable trusts are trust funds that cannot be dissolved by the people who created them (the other kind is a revocable trust). An irrevocable credit is an absolute obligation from a bank to provide credit to a customer. Irrevocable gifts, under U.S. tax law, are gifts that are given by one living person to another and can't be reclaimed by the giver. But the word isn't always legal; we've all had to make irrevocable decisions, decisions that commit us absolutely to something.
Example Sentences
She has made an irrevocable decision.
Recent Examples on the WebIn the countryside of Mexico, three women seek redemption when the case of a missing person leads them down a path of irrevocable tragedy and violence. Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Aug. 2022 Can it be tried or tested without an irrevocable commitment, or must one be so committed that adoption is equivalent to burning the ships on the shores of a new land? Mark S. Bauer, STAT, 12 Aug. 2022 Daughter assumes that since the trusts are irrevocable, and have been around a long time, that there is no relevance to her attorney looking at them. Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 11 July 2022 Nations remain extraordinarily dependent on fossil fuels and are struggling to shore up supplies precisely at a moment when scientists say the world must slash its use of oil, gas and coal to avert irrevocable damage to the planet.New York Times, 10 Mar. 2022 Death was the irrevocable end that finally released Tillman from her obligations, but not without lingering regret and psychic costs. Anna Altman, The New Republic, 26 July 2022 Few biological facts seem as irrevocable as brain death. Tanya Lewis, Scientific American, 20 July 2022 Once an application for citizenship through Real Estate Investment has been approved, the minimum investment is $300,000, which must be deposited in an irrevocable escrow account managed by the developer and the Citizenship Investment Unit. Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes, 5 July 2022 So, despite the fact that from a tax planning perspective irrevocable trusts seem unwarranted, from an asset protection perspective, those plans may well be advisable. Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 7 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from Latin irrevocabilis, from in- + revocabilis revocable