un
pronoun
one.
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un-
un-a prefix meaning “not,” freely used as an English formative, giving negative or opposite force in adjectives and their derivative adverbs and nouns (unfair; unfairly; unfairness; unfelt; unseen; unfitting; unformed; unheard-of; un-get-at-able ), and less freely used in certain other nouns (unrest; unemployment ).
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'un
un
1 American
[uhn]
/ ən /
Or
'un
pronoun
Dialect.
UN
2
American
Or
U.N.
abbreviation
un-
3
American
un-
4
American
un-
1
British
prefix
-
denoting reversal of an action or state
uncover
untangle
-
denoting removal from, release, or deprivation
unharness
unman
unthrone
-
(intensifier)
unloose
UN
2
British
abbreviation
'un
3
British
/ ən /
pronoun
un-
4
British
prefix
Usage
This spelling is intended to reflect a dialectal or informal pronunciation
Synonym Usage
See in- 3.
Etymology
Origin of un-3
Middle English un-, on-, Old English; cognate with Dutch on-, Gothic, German un-, Old Norse ū-, ō-; akin to Latin in-, Greek an-, a-. See a- 6, an- 1, in- 3
Origin of un-4
Middle English, Old English un-, on-; cognate with Gothic and-, Dutch ont-, German ent-; akin to Latin ante, Greek antí; cf. ante-, anti-
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.
See Examples For:
Nerves crept in, and as the match entered extra time, Spain began to fear that this final would go down as un robo, a robbery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Boris Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, told the French they should "prenez un grip" and "donnez-moi un break".
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2025
Living in Paris for a year certainly had its share of stresses, mostly because my French language skills never really advanced beyond me saying, Je parle français un petit peu, before switching to English.
From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2025
“Then en un abrir y cerrar de ojos — in a quick second — I’m here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
“Bring me back un marranito,” she called after us.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
They included staff working for organisations that partner with the UN, according to an internal memo seen by AFP, and were subsequently released.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Multiple UN agencies operate across Afghanistan in a host of areas including health and humanitarian response.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The UN nuclear watchdog on Thursday warned about a rising number of off-site power losses at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
The paper says the UN has labelled IPPs inhumane.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
It was among Congo’s most dangerous cities even in times of peace, and the UN had no contact whatsoever with the entire city of almost a million people.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
What fascinating characters “The English” has at the margins quickly cycle in and out of the miniseries — bad men and women whose motivations and backgrounds remain un- or underexplored.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2022
This sense of being un- or under-written raises the spectre of another English author, Rachel Cusk, whose “Outline” trilogy dispenses with many of the classic techniques—plot, dialogue—that give fiction shape.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 24, 2018
But because that format is so often used to disguise periods of un- or underemployment, the typical hiring manager’s reaction is, “I’m going to find what this person’s trying to hide,” Milligan says.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 29, 2016
The elevated price reflects a confluence of both market and organic factors: the un- predictability of supply, the uncontrollable elements that create quality barnacles, the massive seasonal swings in demand.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2016
Laila sat on it and watched the un- moving blanketed mound that was her mother.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Mr Morris explained: "I said to my partner 'That looks like the couple that were in the news', and she said 'She's definitely got something under that coat. It may be a little 'un'."
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2024
“I can tell a wrong ‘un a mile away.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2022
In French, it’s called ‘un sot-l’y-laisse’—i.e., only an idiot leaves it behind.”
From Fox News ● Jul. 24, 2020
This week it has been hard to escape the distinct impression that people from all sides of various divides have come together to agree the prince was a true wrong ’un.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 22, 2019
“That baint the way to name 'un, measter, not in the ’ood.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
