Adjacent Words

un- definitions

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Merriam Webster's

I. prefix Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German un- un-, Latin in-, Greek a-, an-, Old English ne not — more at no 1. not ; in-, non- — in adjectives formed from adjectives <unambitious> <unskilled> or participles <undressed>, in nouns formed from nouns <unavailability>, and rarely in verbs formed from verbs <unbe> — sometimes in words that have a meaning that merely negates that of the base word and are thereby distinguished from words that prefix in- or a variant of it (as im-) to the same base word and have a meaning positively opposite to that of the base word <unartistic> <unmoral> 2. opposite of ; contrary to — in adjectives formed from adjectives <unconstitutional> <ungraceful> <unmannered> or participles <unbelieving> and in nouns formed from nouns <unrest> II. prefix Etymology: Middle English, from Old English un-, on-, alteration of and- against — more at ante- 1. do the opposite of ; reverse (a specified action) ; de- 1a, dis- 1a — in verbs formed from verbs <unbend> <undress> <unfold> 2. a. deprive of ; remove (a specified thing) from ; remove — in verbs formed from nouns <unfrock> <unsex> b. release from ; free from — in verbs formed from nouns <unhand> c. remove from ; extract from ; bring out of — in verbs formed from nouns <unbosom> d. cause to cease to be — in verbs formed from nouns <unman> 3. completely <unloose>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. prefix. 1 added to adjectives and participles and their derivative nouns and adverbs, meaning: a not: denoting the absence of a quality or state (unusable; uncalled-for; uneducated; unfailing; unofficially; unhappiness). b the reverse of, usu. with an implication of approval or disapproval, or with some other special connotation (unselfish; unsociable; unscientific). Usage: Words formed in this way often have neutral counterparts in non- (see NON- 6) and counterparts in -in (see IN-(1)), e.g. unadvisable. 2 (less often) added to nouns, meaning 'a lack of' (unrest; untruth). Usage: The number of words that can be formed with this prefix (and similarly with un-(2)) is potentially as large as the number of adjectives in use; consequently only a selection, being considered the most current or semantically noteworthy, can be given here. Etymology: OE f. Gmc, rel. to L in- 2. prefix added to verbs and (less often) nouns, forming verbs denoting: 1 the reversal or cancellation of an action or state (undress; unlock; unsettle). 2 deprivation or separation (unmask). 3 release from (unburden; uncage). 4 causing to be no longer (unman). Usage: See the note at un-(1). Both un-(1) and un-(2) can be understood in some forms in -able, -ed (especially), and -ing: for example, undressed can mean either 'not dressed' or 'no longer dressed'. Etymology: OE un-, on- f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Un- Un- [OE. & AS. un-; akin to OFries. un-, D. on-, OS., OHG., & G. un-, Icel. [=o]-, [=u]-, Sw. o-, Dan. u-, W. an-, L. in-, Gr. ?, ?, Skr. an-, a-. [root]193. Cf. A- not In- not, No, adv.] An inseparable prefix, or particle, signifying not; in-; non-. In- is prefixed mostly to words of Latin origin, or else to words formed by Latin suffixes; un- is of much wider application, and is attached at will to almost any adjective, or participle used adjectively, or adverb, from which it may be desired to form a corresponding negative adjective or adverb, and is also, but less freely, prefixed to nouns. Un- sometimes has merely an intensive force; as in unmerciless, unremorseless. I . Un- is prefixed to adjectives, or to words used adjectively. Specifically: (a) To adjectives, to denote the absence of the quality designated by the adjective; as,

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Un- Un- [OE. un-, on-, the unaccented form of the accented prefix and- (cf. Answer); akin to D. ont-, G. ent-, OHG. int-, Goth. and-. See Anti-.] An inseparable verbal prefix or particle. It is prefixed: (a) To verbs to express the contrary, and not the simple negative, of the action of the verb to which it is prefixed; as in uncoil, undo, unfold. (b) To nouns to form verbs expressing privation of the thing, quality, or state expressed by the noun, or separation from it; as in unchild, unsex. Sometimes particles and participial adjectives formed with this prefix coincide in form with compounds of the negative prefix un- (see 2d Un-); as in undone (from undo), meaning unfastened, ruined; and undone (from 2d un- and done) meaning not done, not finished. Un- is sometimes used with an intensive force merely; as in unloose. Note: Compounds of this prefix are given in full in their proper order in the Vocabulary.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

1. Un- is added to the beginning of adjectives, adverbs, and nouns, in order to form words that have the opposite meaning. My father was an unemployed labourer... He had sensed his mother's unhappiness. PREFIX 2. Un- is added to the beginning of a verb that describes a process, in order to form another verb that describes the reverse of that process. He undressed and draped his clothes neatly over the back of the chair... She was anxious for me to unwrap the other gifts. PREFIX 3. Un- is added to the beginning of the past participle of a verb, in order to form an adjective that means that the process described by the verb has not happened. The theory remains untested... Dealers across the country continue to complain about huge stocks of unsold cars. PREFIX