unilateral

[ yoo-nuh-lat-er-uh l ]

/ ˌyu nəˈlæt ər əl /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR unilateral ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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.

RELATED WORDS

one-sided, independent

Nearby words

Origin of unilateral

From the New Latin word ūnilaterālis, dating back to 1795–1805. See uni-, lateral

Related formsu·ni·lat·er·al·i·ty, nounu·ni·lat·er·al·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for unilateral

Under these circumstances, the kind of unilateral executive action Obama is undertaking will become more and more common.
Why Did Obama Flip-Flop on Immigration?|Paul Campos|November 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
To be clear, unilateral Democratic control is just as problematic as the reverse.
GOP States’ Hitlist: Abortion, Unions & Hillary|Nancy Kaffer|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He spoke to Putin on June 17 and came away offering a “unilateral cease-fire.”
Putin Is Just Getting Started in Ukraine|Michael Weiss|June 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But my unilateral declaration of an end to the kulturkampf was depressingly naive.
Warning: This Column Will Offend You|Michael Moynihan|April 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Unilateral implementation of certain aspects of the Dream Act never passed by Congress?
The ‘Defining Issue of Our Time’ Is Obama’s Constitutional Excesses|Ron Christie|January 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As a rule, both sides of the tongue are involved; exceptionally, the affection is unilateral.
A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II|Various
These checks from degeneracy in arrest of development are apt to affect most obviously the unilateral development of the face.
Degeneracy|Eugene S. Talbot
"I think it's the damnedest, trickiest, most unilateral piece of legalistics I've ever seen," Kennon said bluntly.
The Lani People|J. F. Bone
Moreover, the tropic action of unilateral light may become nastic by internal diffusion of excitation.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The response to unilateral stimulation of the tip of the seedling.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919|Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for unilateral

unilateral

/ (ˌjuːnɪˈlætərəl) /

adjective

of, having, affecting, or occurring on only one side

involving or performed by only one party of severalunilateral 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 onlyCompare bilateral (def. 5)

phonetics denoting an (l) sound produced on one side of the tongue only

Derived Formsunilateralism or unilaterality, noununilaterally, 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

Word Origin and History for unilateral

unilateral

adj.

1802, from Modern Latin unilateralis, from unum, neuter of unus "one" (see one) + latus (genitive lateralis) "side" (see oblate (n.)). Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) may have been the first to use it in the legal sense of "made or entered into by one party." Unilateral disarmament is recorded from 1929.

It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions in favor of vegetarianism, while the wolf remains of a different opinion. [William Ralph Inge, "Outspoken Essays," 1919]

Medicine definitions for unilateral

unilateral

[ yōō′nə-lăt′ər-əl ]

adj.

On, having, or confined to only one side.

Related formsu′ni•lat′er•al•ly adv.