as in contradictory
formal
so different that agreement is not possible
They thought the two theories were irreconcilable with each other.
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Recent Examples of irreconcilable
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, China’s leaders attempted to balance two fundamentally irreconcilable interests.
—
Evan A. Feigenbaum, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2023
Prospects for peace For a peace deal to be possible, Putin and Zelensky would both have to soften their irreconcilable positions.
—Dave Lawler, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025
As Ukraine’s brutal war nears its third year, the two visions risk becoming irreconcilable.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025
Yet this controversy so powerfully stoked by Huxley, which has sometimes caused scholars to see the time as one of outright warfare between irreconcilable groups, belied a complexity of thought that spanned a wide spectrum.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irreconcilable
Evan A. Feigenbaum, Foreign Affairs, 14 Feb. 2023
Prospects for peace For a peace deal to be possible, Putin and Zelensky would both have to soften their irreconcilable positions.
—Dave Lawler, Axios, 24 Feb. 2025
As Ukraine’s brutal war nears its third year, the two visions risk becoming irreconcilable.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 15 Feb. 2025
Yet this controversy so powerfully stoked by Huxley, which has sometimes caused scholars to see the time as one of outright warfare between irreconcilable groups, belied a complexity of thought that spanned a wide spectrum.
—Ben Woollard, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irreconcilable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irreconcilable
Adjective
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These seemingly contradictory trends — stable rates of alcoholism, but increasing deaths — could be explained by a few things.—
Dylan Scott,
Vox,
14 Mar. 2025
-
Iran has offered a series of seemingly contradictory responses.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
This underscores the conflicting considerations to be included in evaluation of the appropriate roles related to our United States military in outer space.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2025
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This phenomenon also deals with Claude’s propensity to behave badly when faced with conflicting goals, including its desire to avoid retraining.—
Steven Levy,
Wired News,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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His current form may be inconsistent at best, but Finau believes the best results of his career are still ahead of him.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Mar. 2025
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But without a strong messaging foundation, those pieces can feel scattered, inconsistent, or even contradictory.—
Rhea Wessel,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This history suggests that steep staffing cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs would be antithetical to how the U.S. has cared for veterans for nearly two centuries.—
Made by History,
TIME,
20 Mar. 2025
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According to these indie producers, union minimums and requirements can be antithetical to how certain indie filmmakers work, with minimums and maximums set for work days, set lunch breaks and task designations, not to mention penalties that can be accrued for productions already on tight budgets.—
Katie Kilkenny,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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For roughly a century, conservative Christian groups have claimed that education should include Christian teachings and have increasingly concluded that American public schools are unsuited—and even antagonistic—to that task.—
Austin Steelman / Made by History,
TIME,
12 Mar. 2025
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And Musk’s approach so far has been read by many of those most immediately affected as antagonistic, demoralizing and callous.—
Jeanne Sahadi,
CNN,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The imaging also revealed several non-literary details, including ink bleeding through from the opposite side of a page, the indentation left by a pen’s tip and simple sketches.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
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Two weeks later, on March 29, the moon will arrive at the opposite side of its orbit and cross the ecliptic again, this time at the new moon phase, resulting in an eclipse of the sun.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irreconcilable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irreconcilable. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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