unchartered

[uhn-chahr-terd]

adjective

1. without a charter.

2. without regulation; lawless.

unchartered

/ ʌnˈtʃɑːtəd /

adjective

1. not authorized by charter; unregulated

2. unauthorized, lawless, or irregular

Usage

Care should be taken not to use unchartered where uncharted is meant: uncharted (not unchartered ) territory

Word History and Origins

Origin of unchartered¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; un- ¹ + charter + -ed ²

Example Sentences

That is taking us into unchartered territory, but the scientists hope that the record of our planet's environmental history locked in the ice could give us some guidance.

Read more on BBC

This is "unchartered territory", one source in the peers' camp told me.

Read more on BBC

In answering them, the first thing to say is that we are in completely unchartered territory, so we should be wary of anyone who says they know how Beijing is likely to react.

Read more on BBC

The impeachment of a president is not unchartered territory for South Korea, which last removed former president Park Geun-hye through this process in 2016.

Read more on BBC

He may have had bigger, more individual problems around the club to deal with, but in terms of actually winning football matches, he is in unchartered territory.

Read more on BBC

When To Use

What’s the difference between unchartered and uncharted?

Unchartered means not having (or not done under) a charter or some other kind of official authorization, as in an unchartered flight. It’s sometimes used to mean unauthorized or lawless, as in unchartered activity. Uncharted means unexplored or unmapped, as in uncharted territory or uncharted waters.The chart in uncharted refers to a map, but charted is not commonly used as an adjective—most people would say mapped. In contrast, both unchartered and chartered (meaning having a charter or officially authorized) are used.The two words are often used in much different contexts, but there are some cases where both could apply. For example, a remote parcel of land may be both uncharted (unmapped) and unchartered (not bound by any official charters or laws).Here’s an example of unchartered and uncharted used correctly in a sentence.Example: The movie is an adventure about a group of teens who take a secret, unchartered flight to explore an uncharted island. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between unchartered and uncharted.