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Meaning & use

non-recoverable

adjective·Advancedformalbusinessfinance

Last updated

UK/ˌnɒn rɪˈkʌvərəbl/
US/ˌnɑːn rɪˈkʌvərəbl/

Meanings

  1. adjectivebefore a nounformalfinance

    Impossible to get back, especially money that has been spent or lost.

    Grammar: Comes before a noun: non-recoverable costs.

    Patterns

    • non-recoverable costs
    • non-recoverable debt
    • non-recoverable investment

    The company wrote off the non-recoverable debt after the client went bankrupt.

    These non-recoverable costs must be paid by the buyer.

    The investment turned out to be non-recoverable.

  2. adjectivebefore a nouncomputingtechnical

    Not able to be found or brought back, as of lost data or files.

    Grammar: Used before a noun, often in computing contexts.

    Patterns

    • non-recoverable data
    • non-recoverable files

    The virus made many files non-recoverable.

    Always back up your work so that data is not non-recoverable.

Common combinations

non-recoverable costs
The project was cancelled, leaving non-recoverable costs of millions.
non-recoverable debt
The bank classified the loan as non-recoverable debt.
non-recoverable investment
They lost their non-recoverable investment in the failed startup.
non-recoverable data
The hard drive failed, making the data non-recoverable.

Synonyms and how they differ

irrecoverable
Irrecoverable is a close synonym, often used in formal or legal writing; non-recoverable is more common in business contexts.
unrecoverable
Unrecoverable is very similar and often used for data or money; non-recoverable is slightly more formal.
lost
Lost is more general and can mean simply not able to be found; non-recoverable stresses that it cannot be got back.

Opposites

recoverable

Word family

recover verb
To get something back, or to become well again.
recoverable adjective
Able to be got back.
recovery noun
The process of getting something back or becoming well.

Commonly confused: non-recoverable or recoverable? non-recoverable or unrecoverable?

non-recoverable vs recoverable

Recoverable means able to be got back; non-recoverable means the opposite. The prefix non- makes it negative.

non-recoverable vs unrecoverable

Unrecoverable and non-recoverable have the same meaning; unrecoverable is more common in everyday speech, while non-recoverable is often used in finance.

Practice

After the company went bankrupt, the money we had lent them was ______.

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