undocumented

[uhn-dok-yuh-men-tid]

adjective

1. lacking documentation or authentication.

2. lacking proper immigration or working papers: undocumented immigrants.

   an undocumented worker;

   undocumented immigrants.

Sensitive Note

See illegal alien.

Word History and Origins

Origin of undocumented¹

First recorded in 1880–85; un- ¹ + documented ( def. )

Example Sentences

In recent years, undocumented Hondurans have been at the forefront of the U.S.-bound migration wave from Central America.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The 1970s integrated undocumented Mexican workers into industrial America.

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An undocumented mother worried more for her son, a college graduate whose deportation protection feels under threat.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Along Chile's desert border with Peru, dozens of undocumented migrants line up under the hot sun to try to seek a way out of the country.

Read more on Barron's

Immigration raids are straining school communities across California, where about 1 million children have a parent who is undocumented and about 300,000 students are undocumented themselves.

Read more on Los Angeles Times