unilateral
relating to, occurring on, or involving one side only: unilateral development; a unilateral approach.
undertaken or done by or on behalf of one side, party, or faction only; not mutual: a unilateral decision; unilateral disarmament.
having only one side or surface; without a reverse side or inside, as a Möbius strip.
Law.
pertaining to a contract that can be formed only when the party to whom an offer is made renders the performance for which the offeror bargains.
pertaining to a contract in which obligation rests on only one party, as a binding promise to make a gift.
Botany. having all the parts disposed on one side of an axis, as an inflorescence.
through forebears of one sex only, as through either the mother's or father's line.: Compare bilateral (def. 5).
Phonetics. (of an l-sound) characterized by passage of air on only one side of the tongue.
Origin of unilateral
1Other words from unilateral
- u·ni·lat·er·al·i·ty [yoo-nuh-lat-uh-ral-i-tee], /ˌyu nəˌlæt əˈræl ɪ ti/, noun
- u·ni·lat·er·al·ly, adverb
Words Nearby unilateral
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use unilateral in a sentence
In practice, just as the decision to enter was regarded as a unilateral right by the United States, articulated in policy like the Eisenhower doctrine, so was the decision to withdraw — even if that left Afghanistan to the brutal Taliban.
Afghanistan’s collapse exposes the truth about U.S. military invasions in the region | Suzanne Enzerink | August 25, 2021 | Washington PostHe said her unilateral overreach would leave a scar on the House’s integrity.
Bipartisan House probe of Jan. 6 insurrection falls apart after Pelosi blocks two GOP members | Marianna Sotomayor, Jacqueline Alemany, Karoun Demirjian | July 22, 2021 | Washington PostEven if your employer thought less visibility and a less challenging position would mean less strain on your mental health, that’s not the employer’s unilateral call to make.
My old job was erased when I was on medical leave. Doesn’t the job I return to have to be the same? | Karla Miller | April 15, 2021 | Washington PostTake New Hampshire, where state law gives Secretary of State Bill Gardner unilateral power to move the primary date as necessary to protect the state’s distinction of hosting the cycle’s first presidential primary.
Many Democrats Are Sick Of Iowa And New Hampshire Going First, But The Primary Calendar Is Unlikely To Change | Geoffrey Skelley (geoffrey.skelley@abc.com) | April 8, 2021 | FiveThirtyEightStatehood would be a unilateral gift to Democrats in a Senate that is at the moment evenly divided and a House that is within reach for the GOP next year.
Under these circumstances, the kind of unilateral executive action Obama is undertaking will become more and more common.
At the same time, Democrats lost ground, now maintaining unilateral control in just six states, down from 11 before the midterms.
GOP States’ Hitlist: Abortion, Unions & Hillary | Nancy Kaffer | November 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo be clear, unilateral Democratic control is just as problematic as the reverse.
GOP States’ Hitlist: Abortion, Unions & Hillary | Nancy Kaffer | November 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf the president takes unilateral action to legalize millions of people, King said, “it will create a constitutional crisis.”
Steve King: GOP Congress Should Keep Repealing Obamacare | Ben Jacobs | October 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe spoke to Putin on June 17 and came away offering a “unilateral cease-fire.”
Your State Department has been distributing judicious hints that a unilateral policy toward Franco will upset the apple cart.
The Five Arrows | Allan ChaseThe body of the rules of this law can be altered by common consent only, not by a unilateral declaration on the part of one State.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2) | Lassa Francis OppenheimThe object of treaties is always an obligation, whether mutual between all the parties or unilateral on the part of one only.
International Law. A Treatise. Volume I (of 2) | Lassa Francis OppenheimIn some cases of unilateral tubal abortion the operator has cleared out the tubal mole and clot, and left the tube.
Picture to yourself the unilateral development, the imminent danger of a spinal curvature.
The Valley of Fear | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
British Dictionary definitions for unilateral
/ (ˌjuːnɪˈlætərəl) /
of, having, affecting, or occurring on only one side
involving or performed by only one party of several: unilateral disarmament
law (of contracts, obligations, etc) made by, affecting, or binding one party only and not involving the other party in reciprocal obligations
botany having or designating parts situated or turned to one side of an axis
sociol relating to or tracing the line of descent through ancestors of one sex only: Compare bilateral (def. 5)
phonetics denoting an (l) sound produced on one side of the tongue only
Derived forms of unilateral
- unilateralism or unilaterality, noun
- unilaterally, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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