MEANING
Impossible to bring into agreement or resolve satisfactorily within the relevant conditions.
Use it for
describing positions that cannot be reconciled; identifying an unresolved conflict treated as fundamental; qualifying a claim that two accounts cannot fit togetherMarks a conflict that cannot be resolved within the stated framework, not merely a disagreement that remains unresolved. Academic functions: Comparison / Contrast.
Words that belong together
- irreconcilable differences
- irreconcilable with
- apparently irreconcilable accounts
On the page
The accounts appear irreconcilable until their different definitions of ownership are made explicit.
The treaty exposed irreconcilable demands about the location of final authority.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- irreconcilable
Usage notes
Usually irreconcilable differences or irreconcilable with. Normally non-gradable; apparently or seemingly can qualify confidence. Register: formal. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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