unilaterally

American  

[yoo-nuh-lat-er-uh-lee] / ˌju nəˈlæt ər ə li /

adverb

1. involving, done by, or decided by only one person, side, party, or faction.

   Instead of bargaining with teachers and public service workers, the governor and the legislature have unilaterally reduced pension and health benefits.

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Etymology

Origin of unilaterally

unilateral ( def. ) + -ly

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Explanation

Doing something unilaterally means it's done without the agreement or participation of other people it might affect. A dad might decide unilaterally to take his family to Indiana for summer vacation, without asking them where they'd like to go. You're most likely to come across the word unilaterally in a news report, since it's often used to describe actions taken by governments. If one country unilaterally launches an attack on another, it means the country's government does not consult groups like the United Nations or other affected countries before making the decision to attack. The Latin root, unilateralis, combines the prefix uni, or "one," with latus, "side," to make a word that means "one-sided."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unilaterally

Washington’s willingness to maintain freedom of the seas, unilaterally or with allies, has deteriorated in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

“Anthropic is unilaterally committing to this step now,” Amodei noted.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 12, 2026

The chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, this week signaled to staff a willingness to unilaterally slow their work on frontier systems.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

With few options on North Korea, Seoul has turned to projects it can "pursue unilaterally", Lim said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

Henry was furious with Dad for unilaterally quitting the band, especially since Mom had said he could still play shows.

From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman

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