unringing
Bell already struck
Unringing describes the impossible act of reversing something that cannot be undone.
The expression comes from You can't unring a bell—once struck, the sound exists and cannot be recalled.
Unringing appears in legal contexts when juries hear inadmissible evidence: the judge instructs them to disregard it, but the mental bell has already been rung.
Capable of being reversed
- infeasibleNot capable of achievement
- unachievableCannot be accomplished
- futileIncapable of producing results
- hopelessBeyond possibility of success
Sisyphean · quixotic · impracticable · insurmountable · unrealizable · unworkable · illusory · utopian
Cannot be undone
- indelibleImpossible to remove
- permanentFixed without end
- unalterableIncapable of being changed
- immutableIncapable of being changed
unchangeable · fixed · final · bell · Pandora · toothpaste · genie · unscrambling
undoable
Capable of being reversed
- infeasibleNot capable of achievement
- unachievableCannot be accomplished
- futileIncapable of producing results
hopeless · Sisyphean · quixotic · impracticable · insurmountable · unrealizable · unworkable · illusory · utopian · fool's errand
irrevocable
Cannot be undone
- indelibleImpossible to remove
- permanentFixed without end
- unalterableIncapable of being changed
immutable · unchangeable · fixed · final · bell · Pandora · toothpaste · genie · unscrambling · unsaying
consequence
Result of an action
- echoReflected sound wave
- reverberationProlonged reflected sound
- resonanceAmplified oscillation at natural frequency
legacy · repercussion · ripple · lingering · haunting · trace · vestige · imprint · memory · reminder
unringingirreversible
Cannot be undone
permanent · indelible · irrevocable · unchangeable · final
ring, ringing, rung, rings, ringed, ringer, unringed, unring