Meaning & use
nonsalvageable
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparableformal
Impossible to save, repair, or recover for further use.
Grammar: Usually before a noun or after the verb 'be': a nonsalvageable wreck; the ship was nonsalvageable.
Patterns
- be nonsalvageable
- a nonsalvageable item
- declare something nonsalvageable
After the fire, the warehouse was declared nonsalvageable.
The insurer paid out because the car was nonsalvageable.
Workers removed the nonsalvageable parts and sent the rest for recycling.
adjectivenot comparableformalfigurative
Too damaged to be worth rescuing or putting right; beyond saving.
Grammar: Used figuratively about situations and relationships as well as objects.
Patterns
- a nonsalvageable situation
- seem nonsalvageable
- become nonsalvageable
By the time both sides stopped talking, the deal looked nonsalvageable.
She decided the friendship was nonsalvageable and moved on.
Managers treated the project as nonsalvageable and started again from scratch.
Common combinations
- declared nonsalvageable
- The old bridge was declared nonsalvageable after the flood.
- beyond salvage
- The documents were beyond salvage after the leak.
- a nonsalvageable wreck
- Divers found a nonsalvageable wreck on the seabed.
- prove nonsalvageable
- The hard drive proved nonsalvageable, so the files were lost.
- nonsalvageable condition
- The equipment arrived in nonsalvageable condition.
Synonyms and how they differ
- irreparable
- Often used for damage to relationships or bodies; nonsalvageable is more common for objects and official decisions about them.
- unsalvageable
- The same meaning and very close in use; both spellings appear, with 'unsalvageable' slightly more common.
- irrecoverable
- Better for lost data or money that cannot be got back, rather than for physical wreckage.
Opposites
Word family
- salvage verb
- To save something from loss or damage.
- salvageable adjective
- Able to be saved or repaired.
- salvager noun
- A person who saves goods or a ship from damage or loss.
Commonly confused: nonsalvageable or unsalvageable? nonsalvageable or irreversible?
nonsalvageable vs unsalvageable
This is simply a variant spelling of the same word; both are correct, and 'unsalvageable' is a little more frequent.
nonsalvageable vs irreversible
Irreversible means it cannot be changed back, not that it cannot be saved or repaired.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'nonsalvageable' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Nonsalvageable' means impossible to save or repair, which fits a building ruined by flooding. Option 1 contradicts the meaning, option 3 misuses it for feelings, and option 4 uses it as a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nonsalvageable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.