- unplug (v.)
- 1775, from un- (2) "reverse, opposite of" + plug (v.). Related: Unplugged; unplugging.
- unpolished (adj.)
- late 14c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of polish (v.). In reference to style, language, etc., attested from late 15c. Less common impolished is attested from 1580s.
- unpolluted (adj.)
- c. 1600, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of pollute (v.).
- unpopular (adj.)
- 1640s, from un- (1) "not" + popular (adj.). Related: Unpopularly. Less common impopular is attested from 1721.
- unpopularity (n.)
- 1735, from un- (1) "not" + popularity (n.).
- unpracticed (adj.)
- also unpractised, 1550s, "unexpert," of persons, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of practice (v.). From 1530s as "not done, untried."
- unprecedented (adj.)
- 1620s, from un- (1) "not" + precedented. In common use from c. 1760.
- unpredictable (adj.)
- 1840, from un- (1) "not" + predictable (adj.). Related: Unpredictably; unpredictability.
- unprejudiced (adj.)
- 1610s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of prejudice (v.).
- unpremeditated (adj.)
- 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of premeditate (v.).
- unprepared (adj.)
- 1540s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of prepare (v.).
- unprepossessing (adj.)
- 1816, from un- (1) "not" + prepossessing (adj.).
- unpresentable (adj.)
- 1828, from un- (1) "not" + presentable (adj.).
- unpretentious (adj.)
- 1859, from un- (1) "not" + pretentious (adj.). Related: Unpretentiously; unpretentiousness.
- unpreventable (adj.)
- 1610s, from un- (1) "not" + preventable (adj.).
- unprincipled (adj.)
- 1630s, "not instructed" (in something), from un- (1) "not" + principled (adj.). Meaning "not honorable" is recorded from 1640s.
- unproductive (adj.)
- 1756, from un- (1) "not" + productive (adj.). Related: Unproductively; unproductiveness.
- unprofessional (adj.)
- 1806, from un- (1) "not" + professional (adj.).
- unprofitable (adj.)
- early 14c., from un- (1) "not" + profitable (adj.). Related: Unprofitably.
- unpromising (adj.)
- 1660s, from un- (1) "not" + promising (adj.).
- unprompted (adj.)
- from un- (1) "not" + past participle of prompt (v.).
- unpronounceable (adj.)
- 1831, from un- (1) "not" + pronounceable (adj.).
- unpropitious (adj.)
- c. 1600 (implied in unpropitiously), from un- (1) "not" + propitious (adj.).
- unprotected (adj.)
- 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of protect (v.).
- unprovable (adj.)
- early 15c., from un- (1) "not" + provable (adj.).
- unproved (adj.)
- "not demonstrated to be true," 1530s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of prove (v.).
- unprovoked (adj.)
- 1580s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of provoke (v.).
- unpublished (adj.)
- c. 1600, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of publish. In reference to an author, attested from 1934.
- unpunctual (adj.)
- 1740, from un- (1) "not" + punctual (adj.).
- unpunished (adj.)
- mid-14c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of punish (v.).
- unqualified (adj.)
- 1550s, "not having necessary qualifications, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of qualify (v.). Meaning "not modified or limited" is recorded from 1796. As a verb, unqualify "disqualify" is from 1650s.
- unquantifiable (adj.)
- 1888, from un- + quantifiable (adj.). Related: Unquantifiably.
- unquenchable (adj.)
- late 14c., of fire; 1560s, of thirst, from un- (1) "not" + quench (v.) + -able. Related: Unquenchably.
- unquestionable (adj.)
- c. 1600, from un- (1) "not" + questionable (adj.). Related: Unquestionably.
- unquestioned (adj.)
- c. 1600, "not interrogated;" 1620s, "not to be opposed or disputed," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of question (v.).
- unquiet (adj.)
- 1520s, from un- (1) "not" + quiet (adj.).
- unquote (v.)
- 1915, in telegraphs, where punctuation had to be spelled out and quote and unquote were used in place of the quotation marks; from un- (2) "reverse, opposite of" + quote (v.). Quote unquote together to indicate quotation of the word or phrase to follow (often with ironic intent) is from 1942.
- unravel (v.)
- c. 1600 (transitive), from un- (2) + ravel (v.). Intransitive from 1640s. "The prefix is either reversive or intensive, according as ravel is taken to mean 'tangle' or 'untangle'" [Century Dictionary]. Related: Unravelled; unravelling; unravellment.
- unreachable (adj.)
- 1590s, from un- (1) "not" + reachable (adj.).
- unread (adj.)
- mid-15c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of read (v.).
- unreadable (adj.)
- 1787, of written material, "dull, distasteful," from un- (1) "not" + readable (adj.). Meaning "illegible" is from 1830, but is better left to illegible.
The illegible is not plain enough to be deciphered; the unreadable is not interesting enough
to be perused. [Fowler]
- unready (adj.)
- mid-14c., "not prepared," from un- (1) "not" + ready (adj.).
In English history, applied from c. 1200 (Etheldredus Unrad) to Anglo-Saxon King Æðelræd II (968-1016), where it preserves Middle English unredi, a different adjective, from Old English ungeræd "ill-advised, rede-less, no-counsel" and plays on the king's name (which means "good-counsel"). Old English ræd "advice, counsel" is related to read (v.). Rede "counsel" survived in poetic usage to 17c. An attempted revival by Scott (19c.) failed, though it is used in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings."
- unreal (adj.)
- c. 1600, "not real," from un- (1) "not" + real (adj.). Meaning "impractical, visionary" is by 1660s. Slang sense of "wonderful, great" is first recorded 1965.
Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
[Eliot, "The Waste Land," 1922]
- unrealistic (adj.)
- 1865, from un- (1) "not" + realistic. Related: Unrealistically.
- unreality (adj.)
- 1751, from un- (1) "not" + reality (n.).
- unreason (n.)
- c. 1300, "injustice;" 1827, "absense of reason," from un- (1) "not" + reason (n.).
- unreasonable (adj.)
- mid-14c., "irrational, illogical," from un- (1) "not" + reasonable. From late 14c. as "excessive, going beyond what is sensible or realistic." Related: Unreasonably; unreasonableness.
- unrecognizable (adj.)
- 1817, from un- (1) "not" + recognizable (see recognize (v.)). Related: Unrecognizably.
- unreconciled (adj.)
- mid-15c., from un- (1) "not" + past participle of reconcile (v.).
- unreconstructed (adj.)
- 1867, "not reconciled to the outcome of the American Civil War," from un- (1) "not" + past participle of reconstruct (v.). See Reconstruction.
