un
pronoun
one.
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un
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UN
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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:
Davis Allen se colocó en el backfield y recibió un pase de Stafford, pero los Cardinals lo detuvieron sin que ganara yardas.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
As the hotel manager would say, “un client, c’est un client.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
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
The service ended with the song, I bob un sydd Ffyddlon, before his committal at Thornhill Crematorium.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2025
Achetez un cadeau pour votre fils, she orders them sweetly.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Judge and former UN rights chief Navi Pillay of South Africa was this year's recipient.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026
Even before the latest escalation, the UN calculated that half a million Yemeni children would suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The UN and its humanitarian partners launched a $49.6 million emergency appeal after the Nepal disaster, and the United States announced $31 million in new flood recovery support in September.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The UN says more than 256,000 people have also been displaced.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
The UN sent open-topped trucks to Lokichokio to take us to Kakuma.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
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
Gaw, Jemmy thought, he's fuming like a stovepipe at being un- princed.
From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman
The young ’un is Trey McKinney, a wiry prodigy who broke into Elite Series fishing in his teens and has twice finished runner-up for Angler of the Year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026
“I can tell a wrong ‘un a mile away.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2022
While the current Covid pandemic is not "the big 'un" in terms of disasters, it has highlighted weaknesses in how we live, he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 9, 2020
In French, it’s called ‘un sot-l’y-laisse’—i.e., only an idiot leaves it behind.”
From Fox News ● Jul. 24, 2020
All same, would’n’ ’urt, long’s she didn’t let ’un go on the place.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
