Definition of "nonrecoverable" [nonrecoverable]

• That cannot be recovered, especially from waste materials or ore. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "In the 1950's Henry Kissinger predicted that "limited political engagements" would result in nonrecoverable prisoners of war."
• "In the 1950's, Henry Kissinger predicted that future "limited political engagements" would unfortunately result in nonrecoverable prisoners of war."
• "The Army declared Hodapp's remains "nonrecoverable" in 1956 and efforts to retrieve American remains were stymied through decades of the Cold War."