irreversibility
Cannot be undone
Irreversibility is the quality of being impossible to undo or reverse.
The word appears most often in scientific and philosophical contexts: the irreversibility of time, the irreversibility of entropy, the irreversibility of death.
In practical matters, irreversibility emphasizes permanent consequences: The irreversibility of the decision weighed on her.
State of conclusive completion
- indelibilityState of being unerasable
- immutabilityInability to change
- perpetuityInfinite continuation of time
- fixityState of being immovable
unchangeability · constancy · endurance · permanence · lasting · irrevocable · unalterable · irreparable
Results following an event
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
- ramificationsResulting effects or outcomes
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
- outcomeFinal result of events
effect · result · impact · damage · point of no return · cascade · domino effect · chain reaction
Time's one-way nature
- entropyQuantified chaos in systems
- thermodynamicsScience of heat-energy relationships
- unidirectionalMoving in one direction
- pastTime already gone
chronology · sequence · causality · before and after · timeline · progression · one-way · forward
Firm pledge to act
- crossing the RubiconPassing beyond reversal
- burning bridgesRuining relationships irreparably
- no turning backCommitment beyond reversal
- leap of faithTrust without verification
Pandora's box · spilled milk · vow · oath · tattoo · marriage · divorce
Exothermic reaction with oxygen
- oxidationLosing electrons chemically
- rustingMetal oxidation process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
- digestionBodily food breakdown
cooking · breaking · shattering · mixing · dissolution · chemical reaction · melting ice caps · extinction
finality
State of conclusive completion
- indelibilityState of being unerasable
- immutabilityInability to change
- perpetuityInfinite continuation of time
fixity · unchangeability · constancy · endurance · permanence · lasting · irrevocable · unalterable · irreparable · irretrievable
aftermath
Results following an event
- repercussionsIndirect results of actions
- ramificationsResulting effects or outcomes
- falloutPost-blast atmospheric particles
outcome · effect · result · impact · damage · point of no return · cascade · domino effect · chain reaction · unintended consequences
arrow of time
Time's one-way nature
- entropyQuantified chaos in systems
- thermodynamicsScience of heat-energy relationships
- unidirectionalMoving in one direction
past · chronology · sequence · causality · before and after · timeline · progression · one-way · forward · elapsed
commitment
Firm pledge to act
- crossing the RubiconPassing beyond reversal
- burning bridgesRuining relationships irreparably
- no turning backCommitment beyond reversal
leap of faith · Pandora's box · spilled milk · vow · oath · tattoo · marriage · divorce
combustion
Exothermic reaction with oxygen
- oxidationLosing electrons chemically
- rustingMetal oxidation process
- decompositionBreakdown into simpler parts
digestion · cooking · breaking · shattering · mixing · dissolution · chemical reaction · melting ice caps · extinction · deforestation
- entropydisorder, randomness, dissipation, thermodynamics, microstates
- thermodynamicsentropy, enthalpy, heat transfer, free energy, heat capacity
- lock-inlock-in, path dependence, entrenchment, network effects, legacy systems
- nonequilibriumdissipation, steady state, steady states, steady-state, Boltzmann equation
- harsh realitiesbitter truth, hard truth, harsh truth, home truth, reality check
- Moving Onlet go, move on, closure, acceptance, fresh start
irreversibilityreversibility
Can be undone
undoability · recoverability · restorability · reparability · temporariness
irreversibilityreversibility
Can be undone
flexibility · modifiability · correctability · retractability · revocability
reverse, revert, reversed, irreversible, reversible, reversion, irreversibly, reversibility, reverse-engineer