Adjacent Words

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: radically distinctive and without equal; "he is alone in the field of microbiology"; "this theory is altogether alone in its penetration of the problem"; "Bach was unique in his handling of counterpoint"; "craftsmen whose skill is unequaled"; "unparalleled athletic ability"; "a breakdown of law unparalleled in our history" [syn: alone, unique, unequaled, unequalled, unparalleled]
2: (followed by `to') applying exclusively to a given category or condition or locality; "a species unique to Australia"
3: the single one of its kind; "a singular example"; "the unique existing example of Donne's handwriting"; "a unique copy of an ancient manuscript"; "certain types of problems have unique solutions" [syn: singular, unique]
4: highly unusual or rare but not the single instance; "spoke with a unique accent"; "had unique ability in raising funds"; "a frankness unique in literature"; "a unique dining experience"

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: French, from Latin unicus, from unus one — more at one Date: 1602 1. being the only one ; sole <his unique concern was his own comfort> <I can't walk away with a unique copy. Suppose I lost it? — Kingsley Amis> <the unique factorization of a number into prime factors> 2. a. being without a like or equal ; unequaled <could stare at the flames, each one new, violent, unique — Robert Coover> b. distinctively characteristic ; peculiar 1 <this is not a condition unique to California — Ronald Reagan> 3. unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger> Synonyms: see strange • uniquely adverb • uniqueness noun Usage: Many commentators have objected to the comparison or modification (as by somewhat or very) of unique, often asserting that a thing is either unique or it is not. Objections are based chiefly on the assumption that unique has but a single absolute sense, an assumption contradicted by information readily available in a dictionary. Unique dates back to the 17th century but was little used until the end of the 18th when, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it was reacquired from French. H. J. Todd entered it as a foreign word in his edition (1818) of Johnson's Dictionary, characterizing it as “affected and useless.” Around the middle of the 19th century it ceased to be considered foreign and came into considerable popular use. With popular use came a broadening of application beyond the original two meanings (here numbered 1 and 2a). In modern use both comparison and modification are widespread and standard but are confined to the extended senses 2b and 3. When sense 1 or sense 2a is intended, unique is used without qualifying modifiers.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 of which there is only one; unequalled; having no like, equal, or parallel (his position was unique; this vase is considered unique). 2 disp. unusual, remarkable (the most unique man I ever met). --n. a unique thing or person. Derivatives: uniquely adv. uniqueness n. Etymology: F f. L unicus f. unus one

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unique U*nique", a. [F. unique; cf. It. unico; from L. unicus, from unus one. See One.] Being without a like or equal; unmatched; unequaled; unparalleled; single in kind or excellence; sole. -- U*nique"ly, adv. -- U*nique"ness, n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Unique U*nique", n. A thing without a like; something unequaled or unparalleled. [R.] The phenix, the unique pf birds. --De Quincey.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Something that is unique is the only one of its kind. Each person's signature is unique... The area has its own unique language, Catalan. ADJ • uniquely Because of the extreme cold, the Antarctic is a uniquely fragile environment... Uniquely among the great world religions, Buddhism is rooted only in the universal experience of suffering known to all human beings. ADV: ADV group, ADV with v • uniqueness Each time I returned I was struck by the uniqueness of Australia and its people. 2. You can use unique to describe things that you admire because they are very unusual and special. Brett's vocals are just unique... Kauffman was a woman of unique talent and determination. ADJ [approval] • uniquely ...people who consider themselves uniquely qualified to be president of the United States. ADV: ADV group, ADV with v 3. If something is unique to one thing, person, group, or place, it concerns or belongs only to that thing, person, group, or place. No one knows for sure why adolescence is unique to humans... This interesting and charming creature is unique to Borneo. ADJ: v-link ADJ to n • uniquely The problem isn't uniquely American. ADV: ADV adj

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Single (in kind or excellence), sole, unmatched, unexampled, singular, peculiar, uncommon, rare, exceptional, sui generis.

Moby Thesaurus

a certain, absolute, almost unheard-of, alone, an, another, any, any one, appropriate, atomic, authentic, avant-garde, azygous, beguiling, bewildering, beyond compare, beyond comparison, breakaway, celibate, characteristic, creative, different, distinctive, distinguished, easily first, either, else, enigmatic, exceptional, exclusive, extraordinary, fabulous, facile princeps, fantastic, fascinating, first and last, firsthand, fresh, idiocratic, idiosyncratic, imaginative, immortal, impair, in character, incomparable, incomprehensible, inconceivable, incredible, individual, indivisible, infrequent, inimitable, integral, intrinsic, invincible, irreducible, lone, marked, marvelous, matchless, miraculous, monadic, monistic, new, not that sort, not the same, not the type, novel, nulli secundus, odd, of a sort, of another sort, of sorts, offbeat, one, one and only, only, only-begotten, original, other, other than, otherwise, outlandish, particular, passing strange, peculiar, peerless, phenomenal, prodigious, proper, puzzling, quintessential, rare, recherche, remarkable, revolutionary, scarce, second to none, seldom met with, seldom seen, sensational, separate, simple, single, singular, slow, sole, solid, solitary, solo, sparse, special, strange, striking, stupendous, sui generis, true to form, unanalyzable, unapproachable, unapproached, unbeatable, uncommon, uncustomary, underived, undivided, undreamed-of, unequaled, unexampled, unexcelled, unexpected, unfamiliar, unfrequent, unheard-of, uniform, unimaginable, unitary, unmatchable, unmatched, unordinary, unpaired, unparagoned, unparalleled, unpeered, unprecedented, unrepeatable, unrepeated, unrivaled, unsurpassable, unsurpassed, unthinkable, unthought-of, unusual, unwonted, whole, without equal, without parallel, wonderful, wondrous