unread
Americanadjective
-
not read, as a letter or newspaper.
-
lacking in knowledge gained by reading; having read little or nothing.
She was intelligent but unread.
-
having little knowledge of a specific field.
a brilliant chemist unread in biology.
adjective
-
(of a book, newspaper, etc) not yet read
-
(of a person) having read little
-
not versed (in a specified field)
Etymology
Origin of unread
First recorded in 1425–75, unread is from the late Middle English word unred. See un- 1, read 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
More messages, many of which are designed primarily to be read by bots, will stay unread by colleagues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
Now you are blinking at the screen, as unread emails or your boss's requests morph into visions of Jude Bellingham's flying header.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
One of Australia's biggest telecommunication companies sent emails about a deadly outage to the wrong email address at the Department of Communcations where they remained unread for over a day, parliament has heard.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2025
No rehearsal or director, just the actor and the terror of an unread script.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 2, 2025
My eyes fixed on the screen: three unread messages.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
